La Douleur Exquise
by redchocopanda
Summary: Stacie believes in the concept of soulmates, of destiny and of true love. Now if only she could get her childhood best friend, Beca, who believes that none of those things are real or last long enough to convince her, to do so too & maybe make her realize that the famous Chloe Beale is the one. Unknowingly, Stacie just might become the reason their two worlds might finally collide.
1. Fox Rain

**La Douleur Exquise**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Fox Rain**

Chloe was a well-loved child. Ever since she was born, Chloe's parents had showered her with immense care and undivided attention. Being the only child of John Beale, an award winning cinematographer and Victoria Beale, an elite socialite, former model and now a fashion designer, she became the center of their world. Her parents always had high hopes and dreams for their beautiful, bright-eyed daughter. It is as if they already knew that the young Chloe would soon grow up to become the center of everyone's world. With a smile that instantly brightens someone's day, mesmerizing baby blue eyes, glossy red hair that would catch anyone's attention and unlimited amount of charm to soften even the hardest of hearts, the young Chloe was destined for stardom.

Her mother, Victoria, with whom Chloe inherited most of her stunning features, immediately knew her daughter was meant to be a star so, when the opportunity that calls for beautiful young girls to be modelled for a famous clothing brand arises, she brought the then 7 year old Chloe with her. As for the little ray of sunshine, Chloe happily smiled her way to the hearts of everyone in the room.

That was basically how it started.

Now, if anyone were to say that Chloe Beale was only a pretty face then they better be prepared to eat their own words and bury themselves in shame. The talented little girl also knew how to sing, dance, could play the piano and guitar, and had a promising future in the acting industry. Add up her sociable personality and nothing is stopping her from making the world fall in love with her.

Come her 13th birthday, Chloe was already on magazines and fashion advertisements, confident enough to stand amongst famous models who have been in the industry far much longer than she had. But it wasn't when she turned 16 that her career launched in to greater heights. A famous producer had heard one of her demos and offered a contract with which a very eager Chloe was quick to take. Victoria couldn't be more ecstatic about this good news, Chloe was in fact on her way to living the dream she herself failed to achieve.

At 18, Chloe Beale was already a name familiar to the younger generation. After 2 successful albums, highly anticipated concerts, endorsements and awards under her belt, Chloe was ready to jump to the next level, acting. So as she turned 20, Chloe Beale was walking down the red carpet of her movie premiere, it wasn't the first movie premiere she attended but it was the first movie where she was proclaimed an actress, her proud parents standing by her side. At this point, there was no stopping Chloe's fame. The little girl with big dreams and an infectious smile was close to achieving world domination.

Perhaps people would call it luck or good genes as the reason for such success but to Chloe, good fortune and genetics aren't the only things that one would need in a very gruelling industry. It was more of hard work, stability and discipline that got her to where she was. Sadly, in a world filled with glitter and glamour, people tend to look past all those important things and fail to realize that she isn't entirely immune to the dark side of life.

Chloe had her first major heartbreak when she turned 21, he was an actor and things just fell apart between them. He wasn't her first boyfriend but this was the first serious relationship that she had. Being in a highly publicized romance made it even worse. Every little thing that people could connect them both with was up online. Moreover, false accusations and speculations followed her wherever she went. Questions about him were unavoidable. It was a nightmare to be honest but Chloe being the professional that she was, smiles in the midst of all of that and steps on stage like she hadn't cried just an hour ago. Despite that, Chloe still strongly believes in true love and in the thought that someday she'd find her soulmate.

Other than the lack of privacy, there were also a lot of things people fail to realize in the world Chloe is living in. One, no matter how many celebrities give the _'Haters are going to hate'_ speech followed by the usual _'I don't really care'_ and then the diplomatic _'Thank you anyways for the criticism that made me even stronger than ever before'_ , it still gets to them. It still hurts and the only reason they aren't showing it is because that would only make them look pathetic. On the other hand, ignoring the issue means you acknowledge the false fact and in the end makes you a female dog or in vulgar terms, _bitch_. Either way, there's nothing you can do about it but wait for the issue to die. Obviously, Chloe has had her fair share of hate no matter how unreasonable it was—aka being spotted with a famous male friend who has a horde of overly possessive teenage fans.

Two, physical appearance. Yes, Chloe may be one of the prettiest faces out there but that doesn't stop the haters from playing the _'she had surgery done'_ card or the infamous _'she gained weight'_ card. So, yes insecurities happen to celebrities like Chloe once in a while especially when they are shamelessly pitted against each other. However, her mother can vouch that Chloe had never once went as close as to changing her face and the small lovely scar on her forehead, her trademark feature, was enough evidence to back that up.

Lastly, the most important of all, trust. There's a reason why the entertainment world is also described as 'fake'. Unfortunately, Chloe has experience this countless times. The only difference now is that she is much more aware of it than she was years ago. People love you when you are the hottest celebrity but when scandals catch up on you those very people will be the very first ones to throw rocks your way. The friends whom she thought were her real friends ended up being opportunistic rats who only want to be seen with you when you are at the top. Even the once most loyal fans can turn their backs at you with one wrong move. And don't even get her started with the men who only want to date her for the sake of bragging rights, asshats who think of her as some sort of trophy or conquest.

Nevertheless, there were still a lot of things Chloe loved about the world she grew up in. She was living her dream while inspiring people at the same time. The music she makes and the passion she pours in to everything she does becomes an outlet for all her bottled emotions and feelings. Even though it made her life as crazy and loud as it is now, it was still her form of escape.

However, if the currently 23 year old Chloe Beale had one regret, it was not getting a chance to live the kind of life outside the spotlight. Admittedly, she was jealous of those people who'd post photos of their mundane lives. They didn't have to hurry from one place to another because cameras were following them. They could walk in crowded places on a lazy Sunday afternoon and watch a movie without being wrapped in another scandal or wearing a disguise—still very useless on her part if you'd ask her. Chloe wanted to know what boredom felt like, and not the kind of boredom you got when the interviewers just keep asking the same questions over and over again or hours of waiting in between takes. She wanted to know the boredom people experience when they aren't doing anything at home, just sprawled out in bed without being called for a scheduled event. Or even simply getting to watch the sunrise and sunset in peace, eating ice-cream while walking in the park, dancing in the rain, going on a relaxing road trip, drinking beer until she gets hammered without having her photos scattered everywhere and just trying new stuff she hadn't gotten to experience, like college. Chloe had been home-schooled all throughout college. If it wasn't for that creepy stalker her parents would have allowed her to enter in to Barden University, the university she had been dying to enter. In the end, she sadly had to give that one up and focused on all her projects instead—or that one song about the desire for freedom.

"It's 4:30pm so we still have a lot of time to rehearse before your scheduled performance at Club Bellissimo," the voice of Chloe's manager, Alex, snaps her out of her reverie yet her gaze remains fixed outside of the car, the world outside her own.

Chloe tiredly sighs, wanting to head home instead. She had just came straight from filming a new movie, set to be released next year. Still, she had been scheduled to perform for the famous club months ago and she hated to disappoint the fans who had been lining up for tickets ever since it was announced that she would be one of the guests.

"Also, you are going to be in three interviews tomorrow morning and then after lunch you will have another scene to shoot—we've already chosen a body double by the way. She's a little taller, sexy, not as sexy as you though hon, but yeah she got the curves and all," Alex adds, his hand gesturing sassily in the air for emphasis whereas Chloe continues to stare longingly outside as she watches a group of friends happily swaying to some music at a diner.

"I don't need a body double," she finally says after Alex pauses to check the papers he was reading. Without even looking, she could tell that he had just rolled his eyes in exasperation. Alex has been her manager since she released her 1st album so he wasn't just a manager, he was also one of her good friends.

"And get your ankle sprained again? No, you need a body double for this one especially if the scene requires you to _'slam yourself against a window'_ ," he quotes in the air using his fingers and this tears Chloe's eyes from the world outside to look at him.

"I can do it. It'll be more realistic that way," she counters and he gives her a look.

"We've talked about this already. You do know that your mother will kill me if she finds out that we've let her daughter crash in and out of a window. Aubrey will kill me as well and you know that _witch_ is going to do it," he says with a dreaded look in his face. "And if something happens to you, your fans will have me assassinated," he adds putting his hand next to his head in the shape of a gun and seemingly firing it, all with the matching emotionless face.

"I'm too young and too beautiful to die, Chlo!" he says jokingly while checking himself in his silver compact mirror.

"Oh c'mon, Lex. What's the worst thing that could happen? Besides, it'll be fun," she asks, throwing her hands in the air. Alex squints his eyes at her in return, a frown on his face as he shifts in his seat to look at her fully.

"Seriously, Chlo. What is with you these days? You suddenly crave for Slurpee at 7-Eleven, learning how to play beer pong out of the blue, begging to go skinny dipping at the lake, you even wanted to go to some a capella concert in some university and if I hadn't intervened you would have actually went there!" he lists down with his fingers.

"Now you want to slam your body in to glass because it's _fun_?" he crosses his arms in front of him, his questioning look making Chloe look down on her Louboutins.

She hates to admit it. Honestly, she was embarrassed about it. She doesn't want to tell Alex about the desires that have been creeping inside her but maybe telling her friend about it might make him understand whatever it is she is currently going through.

"I need a break," she finally breathes out. Silence fills the car as she says those words. Looking back at her friend, she sees sympathetic eyes and she immediately knows what he was about to say.

"Chlo—"

"I know, I have a free month after filming—well sort of, since I'll be working on the album, but that's not what I meant about needing a break," she immediately says, running a hand through her hair.

"I need a break from all _this_ ," she waves her hand around her. "I want to do things I've never done before, things I've missed out. I want to go on an adventure, try those things people my age have already tried, no matter how simple they are," she looks back out of the window, seeing the people walking and passing by the streets.

"What do you think it'd be like to live someone else's life for a day?" she suddenly asks, not really expecting an answer to the question she asks herself every single day.

"I want to experience being… normal," she almost whispers the last word as if it was something forbidden or foreign. She feels Alex's hand rest on top of hers. Turning back towards him, she finds a small smile on his face.

"Look, how about we finish all these scheduled activities we need to finish and then we plan to go on this simple, boring, normal adventure you want to go to?" he suggests and for the first time in a long time Chloe feels excited about something different. Her eyes burst into life as she smiles.

"For real? We're really going to do all those things?" she asks in a hopeful tone as Alex sighs like a mother finally giving in to her child's wishes and nodding his head.

Unknowingly, they've reached the club at the same time, as always, a couple of fans were already camping out of the club's back door, waiting for even a glimpse of the Chloe Beale.

"Just promise me, you'll stay focused before we go do something your mother or the media must never know. If you think I haven't noticed you spacing out these days, then you underestimate just how much I know you," he reminds her as she mutters a _'Fine'_ his way, her exhaustion gone with the prospect of having to try at least half the things she wrote on her bucket list.

Once Chloe steps out of the car, cameras automatically go up, clicking away with her every move. Her smile shines and this time, there's much more meaning to it than the usual. She was in the middle of signing an autograph for a very ecstatic woman—who was telling Chloe about a friend who is secretly a huge fan of hers—when rain starts pouring down on them. It wouldn't exactly be surprising if it wasn't all bright and cloudless. Nobody could have possibly predicted it to happen.

Chloe had only experienced sun showers once or twice in her life thus, the look of amazement in her face. She always found it to be quite magical which is why she has always kept the belief that when sun showers occur everything you wish at that moment comes true. Childish it may seem, Chloe's uncontrollable thoughts which she had voiced out earlier made its way back in her head, forming an innocent wish even though she knew it to be impossible. But hey, there's no harm in trying.

In contrary to her calmness, everyone around her however was scramming to find shade to hide. It wasn't only when Alex pulls her along does she realize that she isn't done signing for the woman, who is sweet enough to wait for a couple of hours in front of the club only to have Chloe sign a dedication for her friend.

"Wait, wait!" she calls out at Alex, managing to write a short message and the first letter of the name of said friend. She and the woman were slowly getting drenched in the rain and before she could write the last letter she was successfully dragged inside the club by additional security, her hand forcibly separated from the other females' grasp while the pen she used she realizes, is still in her other hand. The doors close behind her, separating Chloe from the world outside, a situation she has grew up in to. Both her parents were known in their own field and ever since she was young, Hollywood has become her home, red carpets and movie sets were her playground and famous people in the industry were her extended family.

So when did it start? When did Chloe start dreaming of breaking away from the life she was born in to? The answer lies simply in the eyes of a 7 year old girl at an orphanage she went to last Christmas in support of a friend's foundation. Moved by the sad predicament of the children, she immediately asks Anna, the adorable 7 year old she had been easily drawn to, what gift she wanted for Christmas. Chloe remembered her own Christmas wish when she was the same age, an expensive music set she begged her father to buy. Little Anna however, didn't seem interested with dolls or any toy in particular as she points towards the ice-cream stand the foundation brought in. Surprised at such a simple request, she watches the child eating the treat as if she had never had the luxury of doing so. She found out later that day that it was some of the children's first time eating ice-cream, little Anna included. In short, after a whole day of running around barefoot across the huge backyard, playing games she wasn't familiar with, eating children's snacks her mother had deemed too unhealthy, laughing at funny stories she was hearing for the first time and listening to such innocent dreams, Chloe was suddenly getting a peak of some kind of world she has never known until now. It was like her eyes opened for the first time.

Tonight, however, she was opening her eyes to the bright lights that illuminated the stage, people screaming her name and the electronic beat of her song. Chloe's music style had evolved through the years. She started with acoustic and pop songs, to hiphop mixed with RnB and now with her recent collaborations with famous DJs, she has mixed all of those styles with electronic dance music. As always, Chloe's performances start and end with a bang as she poses at the end with her back-up dancers, a smile on her face as the crowd cheers. Another outstanding performance finished.

Staying for only a short while, she eventually bade her goodbyes to friends and acquaintances lounging at the VIP section before heading back out to her car. The light sun shower earlier had now turned in to a downpour as she holds on to Alex's arm. They quickly make their way in to the vehicle, umbrellas shielding them from getting wet. In the midst of all that, familiar flashes from cameras continue to assault her eyes. Thankfully, they made it in safely and finally Chloe could take a much needed rest. She can finally be alone, as she has always been behind the cameras. Leaning her seat back, she settles down comfortably, closing her eyes and humming a response to Alex's complaints about the weather.

Then it all happened so fast.

Chloe felt the loud cracking sound of thunder as if it was just in front of her, a blinding flash of light appeared, she heard the screeching of car tires, the heart stopping sharp turn of their car, all her stuff flying in the air, screams and shouts, her life flashing in front of her eyes and then it went black.

After that, it was so quiet, so still.

That is until, she sees a small spark of light. It grew bigger until she was bathed in it. Instinctively, she shuts her eyes back again when a figure blocks the intrusive light. She tries to speak but her mouth felt so dry and that's when pain shoots from her body. She moans softly as a response and that's when she heard a relieved female's voice, one she doesn't recognize.

"Thank god! Dude, did you know how much you scared me?" the woman says as Chloe feels a cold hand on her arm. The woman sounds young, probably about her age. Confused and scared, she tries to open her eyes once more, this time successfully grasping images of the ceiling, white curtains, medical equipment surrounding her and gorgeous dark blue eyes.

"How are you feeling?" the unfamiliar female asks softly before thinking twice about it and adding "Well obviously not good but you know what I mean, right?" she says cocking her head to the side. The woman looked rather pale, a dark blue and violet coloured bruise formed at the side of her face along with the small cuts that still failed to ruin her beautiful face. How she got those, Chloe could only guess.

"Where is… Alex?" Chloe tries to ask, her voice rough and weak. Her question is only met with a frown and confused look. The female's lips open, forming a silent _'who?'_ as Chloe starts taking in the room she was in. She was definitely in the hospital and a sudden thought instantly fills her with panic. They had just been involved in a terrible car crash and her friend is nowhere in sight.

"Alex," she calls out this time much louder, looking around in bewilderment. "Where is my manager?" she looks back at the woman who now looked lost and helpless.

"Stacie, who is Alex?" she carefully asks and this time its Chloe's turn to frown because last time she checked her name wasn't 'Stacie'.

"I need to call my mother," she says instead, fearing that the woman may just be one of those persistent reporters who just wanted a good scoop. After all that wouldn't be a first. There was in fact, that one time when someone pretended to be some lost foreigner and intentionally bumped in to her table.

"Uhm, Stace… your mother died 4 years ago," the woman slowly admits, a conflicted and worried look now displayed on her face.

"I need a phone. Where's my phone?" Chloe insists weakly, ignoring the woman as she already starts to feel frustrated, looking around in search of her belongings and that's when she realizes something very wrong. Her body didn't feel right. As a matter of fact, it didn't look like her own. She raises up her hands, although having hooked on an IV she instantly knew the difference. She looked at her palms as if she's grown ten more sets of fingers before her eyes fell down to her body. Her legs were longer, her hair, now a lighter shade of brown, swept down to her chest, and her chest—good lord—is well, slightly more _blessed_ than before.

She tries to sit up, only to be met by more pain in several parts of her body. Beside her, the woman had kindly placed both her hands on her sides, supporting her so she could sit up properly. Chloe breathes deeply and shuts her eyes tight to calm down her—or whoever this is—body's protests. She opens them again before slowly looking at her left towards the window's glass where a reflection of another woman's face stares back at her.

Maybe all of this was only a dream, a nightmare to be exact. Maybe if she goes back to sleep, she'd wake up in her own house, in her own bed. But that voice was talking to her again about some kind of head trauma she must have suffered and probably some of the drug's side effects. What annoys her the most however, is whenever the woman calls her by a different name and that finally makes Chloe erupt, panic and fear fuelling it.

"I'm not Stacie! Stop calling me that!" she screams before breaking in to a sob. "I want to go home," she cries while the woman watches her helplessly, her ring clad fingers anxiously running through her dark brown hair. At this time, the doctor finally arrives and the woman instantly explains the situation earlier.

"Is it amnesia? How long does this last? Isn't this some sort of temporary thing? She will remember eventually, right?" the woman questions, looking nervously from the doctor to the nurse. Meanwhile, the doctor continues trying to calm Chloe down. His words soft and gentle but it just wasn't working with her. What was happening to her was too crazy to be true. She was swirling down in to a fit of hysteria when she suddenly feels heavy, the world lightly spinning around her. The doctor catches her as she groggily looks around to see those same dark blues worriedly staring back at her. A cold pair of hands clasp her own and as her back gently hits the bed once more, the last words she hears echoing in her head before everything fades back to black.

"Stace, it's me, Beca,"

* * *

 **A/N: Hey. Look at what this weirdo just made. Trippy stuff.**


	2. Northern Lights

**Chapter 2**

 **Northern Lights**

Beca Mitchell had an unhappy childhood. It wasn't entirely bad at least not until she turned 10 and that's when everything went downhill. The comfort of her home turned in to some kind of battle field between her parents while the young Beca hid inside her closet, eyes filled with tears as she covers her ears with a pair of her mother's headphones. To summarize everything, on top of all the other underlying issues, Benjamin Mitchell, Beca's father, a university professor, cheated on her mother, Janice Mitchell, an accountant and needless to say, their marriage was bound to fall apart leaving the young Beca to painfully decide between her parents. In the end, she chose to live with her grandmother. It was the safer choice that time. Her mother had turned to alcohol and anti-depressants while her father eventually left the house to be with his woman. It was like they forgot they even had a daughter.

Fortunately, living with her grandmother had been pleasant, she was a funny lady who loved teaching her about the stars or the fascinating northern lights and made the best homemade cookies Beca loved. That was the happiest childhood memory Beca had. If only her grandmother hadn't been diagnosed with cancer two years later maybe she'd have more happy memories.

But at 12 years old, Beca stood in front of her grandmother's grave, hugging her photograph while crying her heart out. At that time, she only had one person left to turn to and that was her best friend, Stacie Conrad who stood by her side as she grieved. Stacie was the only reason Beca chose to stay with her father who lived in the same state instead of her mother who still lives back in Colorado. Stacie was like a sister to Beca and was the only person she considers as family. They met when Beca moved in with her grandmother.

The Conrads, Stacie and her mother, Lauren, lived next door and despite Beca's introverted nature, Stacie's crazy antics—exploding science experiments, roof climbing in complete military gear in order to shoot water guns on unsuspecting people, alien and supernatural fascination, etc.—had somehow brought them closer. So, having to part with her best friend wasn't ever going to happen in Beca's book.

Beca's teenage years weren't good either. Other than the fact that her step-mother didn't like her, Beca had also bullies to deal with. The then 14 year old Beca had to suffer being shoved down the ground, being locked in the bathroom for hours, being picked on for her appearance and had her clothes drenched with grape juice multiple times all because she wasn't the typical target. Beca Mitchell always fights back. And for every time she becomes the object of such oppression, only Stacie would always come charging at the laughing monkeys, as she likes to call them, and use her long legs to kick them to oblivion. Of course, being best of friends Beca would naturally dive in to join Stacie and punch the first person her knuckles find.

Well, as everyone who has ever went through high school knows, wrestling in school grounds for whatever reason doesn't end well for both parties and so they'd both end up in the principal's office afterwards but that's bearable. What wasn't was her father's unjust punishments once the news reaches him, her phone and laptop taken away instantly. Fortunately, Beca had her music and that was all she really needed.

By the time Beca turned 16 she ran away from home. Although to be honest it really wasn't considered _running away_ if Stacie's home was the place she was running off to. If anything, her best friend's place felt more like home to her than her father's house. It happened on Christmas Eve and her step-mother's offensive comment about her birthmother in front of their relatives was enough for Beca to bolt out the door, but not before throwing back an insult and giving her the finger of course. She never went back. Her father despised having a bisexual daughter anyway as he made that clear when he slapped her upon learning that his daughter was dating another girl.

Moving on.

College was something the 18 year old Beca looked forward to more than anything. It was her chance to finally be a step closer to getting away from the hellish life she was currently in. Having reconnected with her mother, things were slowly turning for the better. She and Stacie were finally moving to California to attend college at the same university, a plan that has long been talked about. Nonetheless, the experience was fun and Beca was enjoying college life. It was all good for a year until she finds Stacie crying in the bathroom, her phone in her hand.

The 19 year old Beca then found herself back in the same cemetery where her grandmother had been buried, standing beside her devastated best friend as she watches Lauren Conrad's casket being lowered down to its final resting place.

Lauren died a hero. She was shot when a gunman entered the bus she was in. Being the daughter of a policeman, Lauren had acted immediately, wrestling the suspect down and saving the lives of all the innocent people present that day.

To this day, the suspect is still behind bars.

This only strengthened Beca's belief that the Conrads are all born to be heroes. She sees it in Stacie as well and without her loud and crazy best friend by her side she would've long been gone in this world. The leggy brunette had it in her blood to defend the weak and speak up for those who couldn't. Beca was very proud to be her friend. So it is no surprise that Stacie is probably the only one Beca trusts, apart from her headphones and iPod, which doesn't exactly count but anyways, Beca trusts her to the point where she dresses in the clothes Stacie ordered her to wear and heads off to the direction of an address she was given without asking. Much to her dismay, upon arriving at said address, it turns out to be a posh club at an expensive district, the one place Beca least expected. It's not like she detested drinking and partying, she's had too many of those but it's just that her lazy and unsociable ass preferred home on a weekend, especially if said club is currently the hottest place to be. This would mean that Beca would then be rubbing elbows with those snobby little rich kids and that's something she isn't keen on doing. However, knowing Stacie, she probably seduced the security or the bartender to earn her way inside for free so in order not to waste her best friend's efforts, Beca sluggishly continues on, praying that whoever Stacie tries to hook her up with doesn't end up like the last one.

That possessive woman was a nightmare.

Beca had boyfriends and girlfriends but frankly none of which were serious enough to shred her heart out in pieces, as the movies described it. Maybe it was because of the walls she built around herself, a defensive mechanism that stemmed out of her belief that the world is only composed of pain and disappointment. Or was it because she hasn't found _that_ one person yet? Maybe Beca was just too realistic than most people. The fact that she doesn't believe in all those mushy things people hope for like, soulmates, meet-cutes or destiny just proves that. Or maybe, another major possibility for Beca's lack of enthusiasm in the love department—at least as Stacie believes—is that her heart had already belonged to someone and therefore nobody, no matter how hard they try to squeeze themselves in, couldn't replace that certain someone.

Naturally, the currently 22 year old Beca adamantly denies this.

Back in the club, a reluctant Beca is dragged by the hand by an overly excited Stacie. They slowly make their way to the bar and suddenly Beca feels underdressed. Upper class people tend to make anybody from Beca's world feel so, intentional or not, but it's too late to run back home and besides, she gets free drinks so it wasn't that bad. Surprisingly, Stacie doesn't introduce her to anyone which was strange since her best friend has been playing her personal matchmaker ever since they were in high school.

"Glad you're finally here. I'm running out of excuses to decline people," Stacie says while rolling her eyes.

"Wow, have you just realized that you are allowed to do so?" Beca teases and that earns her a playful shove. When it comes to flirting and dating, Stacie holds the trophy for the most number of experiences related to that particular field. She has probably gone out with almost every kind of person that Beca had jokingly called her the walking _'Dating Dictionary'_.

"Here, this is for you," Stacie suddenly says with a meaningful smile, pushing a rolled up poster and CD towards Beca's chest.

"What's this?" she asks, looking back at Stacie with a mixture of surprise and amusement.

"A birthday gift, you dumb psycho," Stacie proudly says with a wink as Beca shakes her head, a huge smile now plastered on her face.

"My birthday is next week, you hoe," she retaliates, a light chuckle escaping her lips. They've probably called each other with every profanity or offensive word that exists, all in good fun of course, and somehow through time, it turned out to become some sort of endearment between them.

"Yes it is, but," Stacie immediately replies, holding up a finger to stress out the words, "This gig is happening tonight and that's why we are celebrating in advance," she reasons as Beca's eyes travel to the club's stage and then back at the objects in her hands. Naturally, she scans the CD first. It had a huge ribbon stuck to the front, making her unable to distinguish whose or what kind of CD it was. Curiosity winning her over, she pulls out the black ribbon only to look back at Stacie with shock, her mouth gaping open.

"Dude, seriously?!"

"What? I caught you, stop denying it! I know you are a fan! A _huge_ fan, apparently," Stacie says defensively, prolonging out the last sentence to stress her point, the hidden meaning behind it so clear for Beca to figure out.

"I told you I'm not, you bitch!" Beca quickly dismisses, although the small curve tugging at her lips was betraying her.

"Says your raging _toner_ ," Stacie retorts before putting an arm around Beca's neck as soon as the stage begins to light up and quickly dragging her to the mosh pit. Any attempts Beca had of countering what her best friend was accusing her of swallowed by the screams and cheers of the people.

In a matter of minutes, Beca becomes lost in the music. She watches in awe as her favourite DJs spins their sick beats. Seeing them, made her wish that someday it would be her turn to make the crowd go wild on that stage one day. There were performances from a couple of amateur rappers and singers for the first few hours. As the night deepens however, the more popular performers started hitting the stage much to the crowd's delight. Beca had already forgotten about everything she had been worrying about earlier and joined Stacie in dancing and singing every song they knew. Finally, the last and most anticipated performance of the night comes, the people in the mosh pit now doubled in number that Beca was already being squished at some point. Thankfully, she was quick to protect the gifts Stacie gave her by lifting it up in the air.

"Oh shit! Beca, look!" Stacie screams, eyes wide as she tugs hard at Beca's arm at the entrance of the main act.

In any ordinary day Beca would have rolled her eyes and shook her head but tonight, she gawks like a child in an amusement park. They were a bit near the stage enough for Beca to see everything so clearly. It was like a television in super HD. And although Beca admittedly scorned celebrities, seeing one in person still left her awestruck, especially _this_ particular celebrity. Beca doesn't know what it is that always draws her to the star but there was just something about this person. Was it the powerful charisma? That voice? Was it because of 2 years ago? Or was it simply, those electrifying bright blue eyes that swallows you into a whole different world?

The performance ends perfectly and Beca is only brought back to reality when she is nudged by Stacie. She hadn't even realized that she had been shamelessly gawking for the whole duration of the performance. Trying to play it cool, she gives her best friend a dark look only to be replied with a playful smile.

"It's called admiration," she points out before walking back to the bar, Stacie on her heels.

"So, it's a crush! Beca Mitchell has a crush. Damn never thought you had a thing for gingers," Stacie sings out teasingly as Beca throws her head back, groaning in protest.

Thinking about how all this started, Beca begins to throw blame on herself, which she'll never admit out loud. If only she hadn't been so careless. Truthfully, it was a crush, if by crush, one means having to feel infatuation or admiration for someone unattainable. It's also true that Beca has openly stated hating said infatuation's music that is, until 2 years ago when said singer's music changed drastically and made Beca regret having even talked trash against said person.

To be fair, how was she even supposed to know that the particular artist would suddenly throw a Zayn Malik transformation? Now that said artist is delving into the kind of music that Beca is passionate about the attraction is bound to happen and those bright blue eyes aren't helping her look away either. Well, she has to admit that those were assets that Beca had already appreciated way, way back.

"When will you ever stop?" Beca complains, eyeing her giggling best friend in disdain.

"When you admit that you do like her and secretly _fangirl_ over her!" comes the obvious reply, a reply that has been said countless times ever since she was caught staring at photos and videos of said celebrity weeks ago. "Or do _dirty_ things while staring at her photos," Stacie adds in a much lower tone but audible enough for Beca to hear through the music in the background which brings back the deadly look on Beca's face.

"Conrad!" Beca protests, eyes widening at the new accusation to which a grinning Stacie replies mockingly with a _'Mitchell!'_

"You do know that _she's_ still in the club, right?" Stacie suggests, eyeing the VIP section up at the second floor which isn't really anything because honestly, unless the VIP patrons loiter around the balcony area then there is nothing to see. Beca looks back at Stacie with annoyance before recognizing the mischievous look on her best friend's face, the kind of look that got Beca hammered, high, vandalizing private property, jumping out of fences, hot-wiring cars and running for her life. That look meant trouble and trouble wasn't what Beca is looking for tonight.

So this time, it is now Beca doing the pulling as she heads out to the club's exit with a very reluctant Stacie. The rain was heavy and thankfully Stacie had brought her umbrella. Although it was small for two people it was enough to keep both their heads dry.

"I'm not going back to jail for stalking," she grumbles as Stacie counters with her usual _'live-a-little-Beca'_ and _'what's-the-worst-that-could-happen-Beca'_ speeches but Beca wasn't having it. They had work tomorrow at the radio station and being in trouble means burning money away, money which they badly needed to pay the bills.

"But she's the reason why I didn't bring you a date tonight. She's your date—well sort of. So, we should go back and get your girl!" Stacie explains and Beca is quick to retort with a number of reasons why that's the most absurd idea ever.

But even as they step on the bus, Stacie still wasn't letting go of it which is something Beca is used to. Her best friend has this exaggeratedly positive mind-set that anything can be achieved no matter how impossible which is actually a good thing—until she's concocting this insane idea that Beca should date her celebrity crush.

"They are people too you know, only famous but still, human beings that have hearts and all those sexy body parts!" Stacie exclaims as the bus starts to move. Beca looks out the window wishing she hadn't forgotten her earphones. Any music lover would agree that rainy days and bus rides are best spent with good music to space out to. Also, a good distraction when your best friend keeps ranting about stuff that is sometimes too much for one's brain to handle.

"Okay, how about _you_ date someone rich and famous first then and prove me wrong?" Beca challenges knowing how much Stacie loves a good challenge. There is no wall too big or too high for Stacie Conrad to climb after all—that's what she says.

"Deal!" comes the immediate reply as Beca shrugs, knowing she has already won. This finally got Stacie to drop the topic as they both fall in to comfortable silence. But then the comfort and silence didn't last long because as soon as Beca closes her tired eyes a sudden motion suddenly jerks her body to the side. All she knew was that there was this loud thunderous sound and a flash of light before everything lost control. The bus swerves sharply to the left then to the right causing people to slide and bump at each other. A sound of horns simultaneously honking and that was when Beca feels the hard force hit her. The bus falls to one side causing people to fall in one direction before colliding into something solid, probably a concrete block. Blood curling screams were let out and everything went black.

Beca didn't know what happened or how long she was out but when she came to she could hear sirens in a distance and pained moans everywhere. It was dark with only the faint light illuminating outside as she finds herself lying down on something or someone. Still disoriented and in pain, her survival instincts naturally kick in as she slowly rolls to her side. Amazingly, she doesn't feel any malfunction in her body, although her side felt sore and she believes it's her ribs. She'd know, she broke a few bones back in the day doing dangerously adventurous stuff she and Stacie keep getting themselves into. Stacie! That's the first concern that suddenly enters Beca's mind like warning lights mentally flashing in her head. Fear and worry fills her suddenly that she pays no mind to the protests of her body.

"Stace!" Beca screams, only realizing now who the person beneath her was as she scrambles to her knees and inspects her best friend. Stacie had apparently broken Beca's fall. Her body taking most of the impact as she had it in mind to shield Beca in the midst of chaos. She is a Conrad after all and all Conrads are said to have heroes blood in them. At that moment, Beca wishes Stacie wasn't born a Conrad instead. Because apparently, her best friend had it in her too, the curse of all heroes.

Despite her desperate calls and pleas her best friend remains lying unconscious in a mess of broken glass shards and metal. Wildly looking around for help, Beca finally notices the state they were in. The broken bus now had bodies lying everywhere, moans were heard in every direction, a mixture of gasoline, earthy smell and blood filling up her nostrils. Getting out required having to climb straight up to the open windows. It was like an apocalyptic film where all hope seems lost. That's exactly what Beca feels as she breathes heavily under immense panic and desperation. Her best friend was close to dying in every ticking second that passes by without anyone coming to their rescue and Beca wasn't going to let that happen. Adrenaline courses in her veins as she painfully makes her way up in a slow and careful manner. She knew she couldn't get Stacie out, at least not by carrying her, besides, other than the fact that she isn't that strong she also knew that she is endangering her best friend's life if she is to even risk moving her and making her injuries worse. So she has to settle for the best option, and that is getting help.

Not knowing how she even got out, Beca takes in the scene before her. It was multi-vehicle collision. Three private cars, the bus they were in, a motorcycle and a small delivery truck, all involved in the horrible accident. If this was what the end of the world looks like she wouldn't even think twice in believing that it is. Clutching her side while slightly limping, she staggers around in the light drizzle hoping to find anyone. Fortunately, in the midst of the chaos, she sees help coming in the form of ambulances and police cars.

Everything was a blur afterwards.

Beca remembers crying and yelling at people all the way to the hospital while Stacie is pulled in to a stretcher. She remembers having to be wrestled down on a hospital bed so they could check and make sure that she isn't suffering from any internal bleeding. Turns out, she did suffer a few broken ribs, cuts and bruises but it wasn't as serious as the others. Then the unbearable waiting follows as she sits anxiously outside the emergency room while they attend to her best friend. She had been 'kicked out' after causing a ruckus inside earlier, much to Beca's annoyance. But when the doctor came out to report the good news, a wave of relief washes over her along with the exhaustion she hadn't realized her body was feeling.

If only Beca knew that they weren't out of the woods just yet, she shouldn't have been too complacent.

After two days, Stacie finally woke up but it wasn't like what Beca expected.

"I'm her sister! Tell me!" Beca almost screams out in frustration after having asked of Stacie's relatives. It was sort of true anyway Stacie was a sister to her. They grew up together after all. Even Stacie's family was like her family. She would've gladly changed her surname to 'Conrad' if only there wasn't so much paperwork and money involved.

"What's wrong with her? Why doesn't she remember me?" Beca repeats for the tenth time, hoping to find an answer that doesn't include _'we need to do further tests'_ or _'we'll have to put her under tight observation'_.

"Ms. Mitchell, we believe that your sister might be experiencing dissociative amnesia. It sometimes happens to patients who have experienced such grave accidents like this—"

"How long?" Beca inhales deeply as she looks back inside the room through the glass panel of the door where her best friend lays sleeping soundly after having been injected sedatives when she broke out in complete hysteria earlier.

"Well, different cases vary, this type of dissociative amnesia is rather rare. It's called generalized amnesia where the patient could completely forget everything. It could take a couple of days, weeks, months…" he trails off as a couple of worst case scenarios cross Beca's mind.

"What's… the longest period of time it would take before she remembers?" she asks slowly. The possible answers scare her. She wasn't even sure she wanted to know but she had to. She needed to know.

"With the right therapy, majority of the patients eventually recover their full memories back after some period of time. It all depends on the patient and—"

"What is the worst case scenario?" Beca cuts him off again. She needed to know the truth, she needed to know what they are about to face and she hates having to be given false hopes. She's had too many false hopes in her life.

"In very rare cases, the patient may never be able to reconstruct their past and develop a chronic form of dissociative amnesia. She may not be able to remember ever again," he explains before continuing on to insist that Beca didn't need to think too much in to it and focus on the patient's recovery instead. He then proceeded to explain more on therapy and medications but Beca's mind wasn't focusing on any of it anymore. Her best friend, her sister, her partner in crime, Stacie, may possibly never remember her and all those precious memories they made. The reality was starting to sink in and it didn't feel good.

Entering back in to the room, Beca sighs before sitting down on an empty chair. Her gaze is focused on Stacie's sleeping form before landing down on to the stuff that the nurse had left earlier. It was a bunch of their personal belongings from the accident, Stacie's shoulder bag, Beca's own personal items and the gifts Stacie gave her hours before everything became a nightmare. Carefully, she picks up the gifts, looking at them for a moment before her vision blurs and tears drop down from the corners of her eyes. She holds them close to her chest, trying to recall all those moments they had before the incident. Beca felt so alone. She hated the feeling, it's been such a long time ever since she last felt it during her parents' divorce. She then mentally vows to help her best friend regain what she lost. She wasn't going to give up. To Beca, Stacie was the only family she had left. That's the last thing on her mind before she gave way to sleep.

It was probably a couple of hours before she wakes up with a stiff neck due to such an uncomfortable position. It wasn't as dark as it was outside now that the dawn is breaking. She would've went back to sleep if only she hadn't noticed something missing.

Stacie wasn't on her bed.

Panic rises inside Beca as she bolts to the door, frantically searching for her missing best friend. She's tried asking at the nurse's station, thinking that maybe they had to run more of those tests without even notifying her but when she gets nothing fear finds its way back in to her system. The upside was, now she wasn't alone in her search as the hospital staff and security have now been alerted of the situation of the possibility that a patient may have escaped. Aside from a minor head injury, Stacie only had a sprained ankle, a fractured elbow a couple of bruises and cuts so it's likely she may have wandered around. It's not even helping that she does not remember anything and could just have fled out of fright. If Beca only knew she wouldn't have slept and kept herself awake.

She was just about to call the police when her peripheral catches a tall brunette standing at the middle of the hospital's lobby looking lost. Heaving a sigh of relief, Beca runs over to her best friend.

"Stace, god! What on earth—" Beca stops abruptly, suddenly realizing from the surprised and cautious look Stacie was giving her that the person who she was talking to didn't exactly know who she was. Clearing her throat, she tries a much calmer tone, hoping that she wouldn't scare her away.

"Uhm Stacie, well that's your name, Stacie Conrad. My name is Beca, Beca Mitchell. I am your best friend. We grew up together and I know it's hard to take all this in but please just trust me this once?" she asks, extending a hand out towards Stacie. The tall brunette however instinctively takes a step back at the sudden gesture.

"The doctor said you need to rest so you can easily recover," awkwardly taking back her hand, she continues to explain softly, admittedly a little hurt with that look of distrust coming from her best friend like she was a stranger. But the truth was, that's what Beca is in her eyes now, a stranger. And although it hurts, Beca knows she has to be patient to win back that trust. The doctor had advised her that there is no one better to help in her best friend's recovery other than her. Racking her brain, she immediately turns to the things Stacie likes.

"Look, how about you come with me back to your room and I, go order ourselves some pizza and strawberry ice-cream?" she suggest with a light smile, all the while taking one small step forward. There seems to be a slight look of curiosity from the brunette which gave Beca hope.

"I'll even watch those crappy romantic French movies you totally love?" she tries again, taking another small step forward. She is rewarded with a contemplative look. At least, they are getting somewhere and Beca just needed something more, a memory that could be familiar to Stacie or probably something related to the last memory they had together.

"Okay, fine, I'll admit it. I like Chloe Beale! You know, the singer, Chloe Beale. I downloaded some of her songs which by the way, you also like and if you come with me I'll promise that we'll go watch her concert and join her fan club," Beca exhales. She had her eyes shut closed during the entire confession before mumbling an "and I may have looked at some of her photos while doing _stuff_ ," through gritted teeth.

"Which songs? 'Drive' or 'Firelight'? And what kind of _stuff_ are you talking about exactly?" Stacie suddenly replies making Beca open her eyes to find a look of amusement in the taller girl's eyes that for a second there she was almost certain that her best friend is pulling a really evil prank at her.

"Dude, I know you have amnesia but seriously?!" Beca shakes her head in disbelief, wincing at the sudden pain from the stiff neck she had forgotten. "You don't remember your best friend of more than 10 years but you still know who Chloe fucking Beale is? That is just—that hurts you know," she points to her chest as she says this, looking sincerely offended.

"I'm sorry,"

Beca finally looks back at the soft apology and waves a hand at her dismissively. It was childish on her part to even be mad at something so small. She was about to introduce another favourite when Stacie speaks up again.

"I'll come with you in one condition," she starts and this grabs Beca's full attention, the look on her face eager. "Help me find my—I mean Chloe. I need to find Chloe Beale. Now,"

Beca's mind stopped working after that sentence. The look on her face was contorting into a mixture of disbelief and confusion. But when she glances back at Stacie's serious face her frown just deepens. If there was one thing Stacie is bad at it is keeping a straight face for a long time in the middle of a joke. So, there is only one thing left to do and that is to laugh, hard. Because, certainly this situation is starting to look like one big joke the heavens decided to throw down on her.

"Oh god, this is… this is terrible, so much more terrible than I thought," Beca continues to laugh sarcastically, shaking her head and wiping tears from laughing too much. From the corner of her eye, this time it is Stacie's turn to frown. "My best friend just might have completely gone crazy," Beca mutters to herself, this time inhaling and exhaling several times hoping to maintain her own sanity as she places a hand over her forehead.

"I'm being totes serious," Stacie says, now sounding a little annoyed at Beca's reaction. Her words stop Beca's mumblings as she faces her best friend. A look of pure concern laced in all that frustration.

"Stace, first of all Chloe Beale isn't our neighbour who we can just _find_. Second, even if we do find her it's not like we can get close enough to her without ending up back in this hospital or jail. And finally, what the actual fuck is 'totes'?!" Beca feels like she is about to explode in frustration while trying really hard not to shake her friend until she remembers who she is. At the same time, however, a flashing image catches Beca's eye as her eyes flit over to the television screen hanging up near the lounge area. She pauses for a second, straightening up and motioning over to the monitor behind Stacie.

"You're looking for her? Well, there she is," Beca says about to add another sarcastic joke until she realizes that it wasn't just any entertainment news. The annoyance in her face completely disappears when she reads the big bold letters underneath the famous singer's photo. Beside her, she hears Stacie let out a gasp.

"She's… in another hospital," Beca slowly states the obvious as videos of the celebrity's family now appear on screen, her crying mother in the arms of her worried father who refuses to be interviewed.

Chloe Beale has been involved in the same accident they were in and is unfortunately still in critical condition.

* * *

 **A/N: Thank you for your interest in this fic. Warms my heart to get followers, likes and reviews. Hope I can live up to the expectation. Anyways, hope you guys liked Beca's point of view.**

 **Things are just about to go crazy, by the way.**


	3. Jam Jam

**Chapter 3**

 **Jam Jam**

It's weird, waking up in an unfamiliar place, next to an unfamiliar person with an unfamiliar feeling of living in someone else's body—which isn't that bad if you are lucky to get body swapped with someone who has nice _assets_. Not that Chloe hated her body, she loved her own body. Sure, although hard to believe, she had insecurities back in the day, as all teenagers do. And despite the fact that she grew up being complimented by people around her since the day she was born, there were still times when teenaged Chloe wished she was born with this and that. Of course, the thought lessen through time with the constant love and attention by her fans. Chloe Beale is now confident in her own skin. Which then brings her back to the problem she is currently facing, this _skin_ wasn't her own. Also meaning, goodbye confidence.

It sucked, her current position sucked. After her initial emotional outburst, which was very normal for anyone who has been through the same process— _if_ ever there was anyone—Chloe slowly tries to sit up. There was a sharp pain on her upper arm, her ankle, her back and her head. She had only realized that she—meaning Stacie's body—has a head injury. Carefully, she swings her legs down the side of the bed when she pauses to study the person sleeping in an uncomfortable position on the chair next to her bed. She was pretty sure this girl's name started with the letter 'B' but she really couldn't remember the name so she settles with 'Dark Blue' instead. It was the colour of the sleeping girl's eyes which she surprisingly still remembers. Dark Blue looked cute, Chloe has to admit that. The girl had dark brown hair and well, dark everything actually as she notes the black eye-liner, black shirt underneath the chic black leather jacket, black skull nail polish, black metal rings, black ripped jeans and of course, black boots. This girl's style almost made Chloe re-think the nickname she had given and change it to 'Vampire' instead because truthfully only the fangs are missing out of the black ensemble and pale skin.

Snapping out of her own thoughts, Chloe begins to map out solutions to her predicament. And among all of the solutions she has thought out only one thing remains the most important, she has to find her real body first. If she was trapped in Stacie's body, it could be possible that this girl's soul—as absurd as it sounds—could also be trapped in hers. When she achieves that first step then they could both try to figure out what to do next. Nodding determinedly to herself, she makes her way out as quietly as possible, passing by the other patient in the room who is still sleeping, limping slightly as she holds on to the walls with her un-injured hand. She makes it out slowly but surely, looking around and finding the exit. It was way too early in the morning, the sun wasn't up yet thus her grumbling stomach. In any normal 'Chloe Beale' day, Chloe would've been up, memorizing her lines with her health drink in hand and sitting in front of the mirror getting prepped for today's filming. Somehow, she doesn't really miss having to be woken super early only to be dolled up. What she does miss is her health drink, composed mainly of some greens like kale and spinach mixed with a variety of fruits. If most people have coffee when they wake up, Chloe has healthy smoothies and juices. So, maybe she sort of regrets her decision of escaping without a clear plan and when she reaches the lobby—finally—her resolve starts to wane.

First on her list of problems other than being hungry is, nobody wants to tell her where her body is. Honestly, she was a little shock that it took her almost five minutes getting the receptionist's attention whereas yesterday only the sight of her red locks where enough for people to eagerly put her first on their list of priorities. Moreover, she was stumped to find people looking annoyed when talking to her. Certainly, she's been nothing but polite. Soon, after being declined information on whether or not her body had been brought in the same hospital, she looks around hoping to find some bright light in the middle of all this darkness. In minutes, she finds it in the form of worried dark blue eyes appearing in front of her face.

"Stace, god! What on earth—" Dark Blue pauses before she could even finish her sentence when she realizes Chloe suddenly distancing herself from her.

She still doesn't feel totally comfortable around this stranger and it seems like the brunette is sensitive enough to respect that. She observes the sudden change as the girl starts introducing herself and how they met. In a moment, the girl offers her hand and Chloe is suddenly torn on what to do, her body instinctively taking a step back at the sudden gesture. It did make her feel a bit guilty as she sees the hurt in her eyes when the girl withdraws her hand awkwardly. However, despite that, the girl, Beca, who also calls herself Stacie's best friend continues on.

Beca was now talking about food which is already enough for Chloe to run away with her because it's been a while since she had pizza and ice-cream. Reason being, her strict diet for the movie she is currently filming. But it wasn't the food that really caught Chloe's attention, it was that small smile Beca was wearing when she spoke. Initially, the girl scared her with the spiky exterior she was projecting. Beca would probably be the type of girl her mother would warn her never to befriend or acquaint herself with. That smile changed everything though.

Currently, Beca is talking about French movies and she is seriously thinking about following her because food and movies is already a sure bait for Chloe Beale. But it wasn't until Beca's sudden confession that she finally drops her guard down entirely.

Beca likes her?

Turns out, the petite brunette actually likes her enough to download her songs, watch her concert and is even willing to join her fan club. Chloe thinks it adorable especially in the way that she confesses it as if it was some sort of taboo secret. Speaking of taboo, that last bit about Beca admitting to looking at her photos while doing _stuff_ , _stuff_ which Chloe already has a clear idea on what it could be brings a smirk on her lips. To be liked by men is a compliment, to be liked by women well, that is an honour and far better than any compliment. So naturally, she decides to have a little fun.

"Which songs? 'Drive' or 'Little Bit? And what kind of _stuff_ are you talking about exactly?" she asks, feigning innocence on the last sentence which is slyly countered with an abrupt change of topic followed by adorable ranting. Adorable because Chloe has just realized that Beca may look like she'd kill you if you even as much try to talk to her but the truth is, as it seems, she was this overly concerned best friend who sincerely cares. It was sweet. Stacie is lucky to have a friend like Beca.

Chloe wished she had a friend like Beca. She had friends yes, lots of them, but the ones who'd look at you with at least half of this kind of concern, she could only count with one hand and unfortunately, these were the people she doesn't get to spend that much time with because of her work. Nothing's permanent in Hollywood after all.

"I'll come with you on one condition," Chloe suddenly says, finally finding the determination to fix her problem. If she is going to analyse her situation, there was only one person who could help her right now and that is the girl in front of her.

But to her dismay as soon as she lays out her grand plan she is met with laughter and more, laughter. Apparently, Beca thinks it's impossible which Chloe doesn't believe so, until Beca lists out her reasons. Was it really that hard? She thinks about it for a moment before opening her mouth to explain what _'totes'_ is. However, Beca beats her to it with words that make her hopes leap up the air only to have it crash down the ground at what she sees. With Beca's help, she walks closer to the screen to learn more of the horrible truth.

The reporter states that her body is still in critical condition as she remains unconscious. It's even unbelievable to think that two days has already passed by since it all happened. She sees her parents and the look of sadness on their faces made her want to yell out and tell them that she was okay.

That she was right _here_.

"She's not going to die, Stace," Beca softly says. They've already went back to her room and she had done nothing but cry in silence. Her whole life, her career, her dreams, her music, her family and friends, all going to disappear completely if ever her body gives up. It was so hard to take in.

"She's in the best hospital in the world with the best doctors attending to her. I really don't get why you are acting like this," Beca sighs, her back towards her as she busies herself with something. Whatever it is Beca is busying herself with must be a secret as she keeps looking down at it, then back at the door and even closing the curtain dividing them from the other patient, an old woman who was again currently loudly snoring in her sleep.

Earlier, Beca had reluctantly left her with the excuse to grab more of their stuff at home and had just returned a couple of minutes ago to Chloe's forlorn state. The other girl couldn't figure out just why Chloe was acting like this for a person she says, she's never met—if only she knew—and has tried to lighten up her mood by constantly reassuring her that _her_ body is going to survive. So far, none of it is working. It has now dawned on Chloe just how heavy her problem is.

Her empty gaze settles out of the window as she sadly thinks things. She was so pre-occupied by hopeless thoughts that she jumps a bit to the sudden object landing on her lap. She looks down to find two slices of pizza on a paper plate. From the looks of it, it looked like it had been rolled and wrapped up in foil like smuggled goods before being served at her lap. Confused, she looks up at Beca who then hurries over to the door, peeping through the see-through rectangular glass panel while looking left and right.

"Hurry, eat up!" she hisses at Chloe as she looks back at her.

"B-But I don't think that this is part of my hospital diet—" Beca snorts at her excuse, looking back at her again with a ridiculous look on her face.

"Dude, it's either that oily deliciousness or those disgusting hospital food," Beca points out before glancing down at the hallway again. "Quick! Eat, I got you covered," she adds but when she sees Chloe hesitating she tears herself away the door and walks over to her side with an unreadable expression that almost scares Chloe before picking up the pizza and much to her surprise, pinching her nose causing her to open her lips. In seconds pizza is being shoved in her mouth.

It was delicious, delicious enough to make her forget the barrage of protests and insults she was planning to throw on a smirking Beca who then hands her a water container. Opening it, she takes a sip. Almost instantly, her eyes grow wide as she almost chokes at the taste.

"Is this… soda?" she asks as Beca rolls her eyes.

"Sorry, I found out that we just ran out of beer so, soda," Beca slowly explains before grabbing the container from Chloe's hand and drinking from it herself. The container is then returned to her as she looks at it with a frown. Beca and Stacie clearly had unhealthy lifestyles that, she knows now.

"What?" Beca asks, noticing her expression.

"It's just I don't feel like having soda after eating something oily. I want tea, if they don't have Chamomile then I'll settle with Green Tea," Chloe says as she looks up expectantly at Beca who is staring back at her like she's some kind of foreign specie. So, she thinks back on her sentence, trying to recall if she said something wrong and that's when she remembers one more detail.

"Oh right, uhm can you get me tea, please?" she asks this time with a bright smile. Her mother always taught her to be polite especially when asking for something and being inside someone else's body is no excuse to stop being so.

Beca on the other hand, as she observed, shook her head quickly like someone shaking off some morbid thought in their mind before nodding uncertainly and awkwardly walking to the door. The brunette also threw cautious glances at her as she heads out of the room. And all the while Chloe was still trying to figure out if tea has already become an urban dictionary lingo she doesn't know of.

More than half an hour later, Stacie's best friend comes back as silently as she left with a small box of Lipton green tea and a cup of warm water. Chloe smiles as Beca dips a tea bag in the cup before carefully handing it to her, that same weird look still on her face. Sweetly thanking her, she takes a sip and sighs at the soothing warmth. It wasn't her favourite tea but it would do for now.

As she places the cup at the table next to the bed she feels Beca quietly sit down in front of her. And before she knows it, a pair of hands cup her face as she looks at Beca, wide-eyed and stunned by the sudden gesture.

"W-What are you—" she sputters only to be cut off by the brunette's words.

"Stacie, you are like a sister to me and I love you. Don't worry, I'll never leave you and I'll take care of you for the rest of our messed up lives," Beca sniffs before pulling her into a hug. Chloe lets out a squeak, her whole body stiffening at the sudden contact while her cheeks suddenly heating up, creating a light shade of pink. She tries to speak but her words came out in a stammer.

"Shh, it's okay. I'll always be right here, even when you go crazy," Beca assures her and as Chloe opens her mouth to protest, Beca's hand comes up to gently pat the back of her head.

"I'm not crazy! I just wanted tea—"

"Shh, I said its okay. We'll get through this, Stace,"

She wasn't going crazy and Chloe would've totally been offended if not for the comforting warmth Beca's arms provide. After everything that had happened, Chloe only realized how badly she needed a hug, a genuine one. Not those hugs one gives when you meet an acquaintance at an award's night in front of all the cameras. Beca's hug told her that everything was going to be alright. For some reason, she felt safe. Strange how a person she's just met could actually make her feel better than those whom she had known half her life. So maybe, it wasn't as bad as she thought it would be. Just then an insane thought pops up in her head. Perhaps, she could make something positive out of this whole mess. Chloe could try and borrow Stacie's life for the meantime and get to do things she hasn't done—

"Becs!" Chloe excitedly pulls away a bit to meet the curious look on Beca's face.

"Did you just call me Becs?"

"Yes, like a nickname! Besides, it's cute," she explains as the brunette blinks at her before sighing.

"Actually, Beca is already short for Rebecca so, Beca is already a nickname" Beca admits with a tight lipped smile as Chloe's lips let out a silent 'oh' before smiling sheepishly.

"Rebecca is a lovely name. Can I still call you Becs though?" she asks in a hopeful tone and Beca seems to contemplate about it for a while. If there is one thing Chloe is known for amongst family and close friends, it is her habit of giving someone unique nicknames and anyone on the receiving end should be honoured because it just means that Chloe genuinely thinks of you as someone she could be comfortable with. She calls her best friend, Aubrey, 'BaBree', her manager Alex, 'Slexy', her stylist, Elizabeth, 'Elza' and her driver, Edward, 'Cullen'. So, for now, Rebeca Mitchell is 'Becs' only that is, if the petite brunette would agree.

"Rebecca sounds old to me though," Beca rolls her eyes as Chloe quickly counters with a, _'No it isn't!'_

"Yes it is, which means, 'Becs' is fine," Beca simply shrugs as Chloe smiles widely before suddenly remembering that she wanted to say something earlier.

"Right so, Becs, I was actually thinking if maybe we could, you know, try something…" Chloe suddenly fumbles for her words, looking down at her fidgeting hands and hoping that Beca would concede to her idea.

"Is this the part where you ask me if we could rob a bank and blame it on your crazy if ever we get caught?" Beca completes for her, the playful look in her eyes making Chloe throw a ball of crumpled tissue at her.

"No, not that! I just—I have a bucket list of things I want to do,"

"You mean a bucket list of things you have yet to do," Beca corrects her as Chloe pauses a bit. Apparently, Stacie seems to have been such an adventurous person if Beca was putting it that way. Thankfully, she can hide behind the excuse of having amnesia in order to do the things she longed to do. But then Beca beats her to it, making the task easier on her.

"Oh well, this is like, your second life so, go ahead, what do you want to do?" the brunette raises both her arms in surrender, waiting for the first of the list of things Chloe badly wanted to do. Suddenly, to Chloe it seemed that the world had opened some kind of door where the things she should try were endless.

"I want to go to an a cappella concert!" she immediately blurts out excitedly in contrast to the blank look on Beca's face. "Please, Becs. I've never seen one before," she begs, reaching out to hold the other girl's arm.

"Stacie," Beca starts, "We've just been to an a cappella concert last week. We go to those things all the time. You even dated that sleazy a cappella guy," she continues but when she notices Chloe's obvious disappointment she seems to regret her words.

"But! In celebration of your second life, we should _totes_ go and watch one as soon as you get discharged from this hell!" Beca chirps in an overly happy tone while Chloe's lips break into a huge smile, giggling at Beca's use of one of her most over-used words.

"You promise?" she eagerly asks, squeezing at the brunette's arm.

"Yes, I promise we will watch one, but this time let's try not to end up getting high and running around naked," Beca cringes a bit at some thought as Chloe tilts her head to the side not really knowing what to expect anymore.

"Wow, you—I mean, we seem to live in such a _very_ colourful life," Chloe slowly says with a soft smile as Beca sighs.

"You have no idea just how _colourful_ it is,"

"Maybe you can remind me about it," Chloe suggests. If she had to pretend as Stacie she had to know more about her seemingly crazy lifestyle and maybe even more about this very intriguing woman sitting casually in front of her. There's tomorrow anyway and she didn't really think that she'd be stuck forever like this. There has to be a way no matter how hard it is and Chloe is going to find it. But for the meantime, maybe she can relax and enjoy this hopefully, _short_ vacation.

"Well, prepare yourself. This is going to be a long story,"

* * *

 **A/N: I don't think our sweet sunshine Chloe will never be ready for what she's going to hear. While our dangerous vampire Beca is bringing in a huge storm by turning/tainting Chloe's white clouds into black- or is it the other way around? It is going to be a long story though. But no worries, I'll try to keep you guys entertained with those two and their crazy lives until the last word.** **Thank you for tuning in to this story!**


	4. Dark Side

**Chapter 4**

 **Dark Side**

"Her tests results are good. We don't see anything wrong with her brain activity," Dr. Evans explains as he points out the film where Stacie's results from her CT scan were imprinted.

"She doesn't remember anything," Beca exhales, standing near the window of the doctor's office as she bites on her thumb anxiously before facing the doctor sitting behind his table.

"Brain trauma can be very tricky, Ms. Mitchell. Loss of memory is likely to happen in such cases," he carefully says as Beca finally sits down on the chair opposite his.

"I understand that part but," she pauses as a frown forms on her face, her eyes looking at the test results. "Is it also possible that she suddenly does things that she doesn't normally do?" her eyes travel down to the small box of tea she had just bought from a nearby store. Her best friend suddenly had requested for tea which is very strange, given that Stacie never liked tea. Actually, her normally eccentric friend hated said drink. Her palate has never tasted tea ever since the first time she did and that was even before they met.

"There are rare cases regarding that particular situation. Some people tend to suddenly do things out of their usual lifestyle. What I am saying is, it can happen. Another possibility is, your friend may have picked them up from significant people in her life just like what you told me about, her sudden interest for a… certain celebrity," Dr. Evans takes off his glasses and leans back on his chair, placing a hand under his chin.

"Yes, we were coming home from the club where this celebrity had performed in before we got into an accident. It was a small concert. She'd been so excited the week before, she wouldn't tell me why because it was a surprise but I believe that's the reason," Beca recalls as her hands find interest in the small box.

"Also, her mother did love drinking tea," Beca says sadly, suddenly remembering the image of Lauren Conrad, sipping tea in the kitchen while reading some romantic novel on a lazy afternoon.

However, despite the scientific explanations, thoughts were continuously flowing inside her head, thoughts she didn't want to say out loud. There was just this part of her that is afraid of the things she has initially felt being in the presence of her childhood best friend. But a part of her also wanted her to let it out. She wanted the doctor to tell her otherwise, to tell her that she was wrong. It was just some crazy idea that her stupid brain conjured up anyway.

"I know there are medications and therapy but it's—to be honest, I feel like I am talking to whole different person," she finally admits. "I know that the accident is to blame and all the other medical explanations but I know Stacie more than anyone in this world and…" she trails off, not really knowing how to put it.

"I keep having this feeling that this person is not my best friend," Beca lets out a deep sigh, shaking her head. These strange thoughts were just probably a side effect of the shock from the accident and even Beca herself has doubts about what she is feeling. With her own guilt gnawing at her and Stacie's condition, she may just be overreacting.

"It's only normal that you feel that way, especially with what both of you have gone through. There's still hope, Ms. Mitchell. Think of it this way, your friend is so lucky to have survived such an ordeal. And I could say the same for you," he says before writing down the prescriptions and a calling card from one of their best therapists and psychiatrists. Beca didn't think she needed to talk to a shrink. It wasn't really her first vehicle accident after all. But he was right about one thing, she has to think of the bright side. She still has Stacie, the only family she has left. It's true that her parents were still both alive, it's true she has distant relatives as well but they didn't feel like family to her. They were never there for her when she needed them the most. To Beca, she had only one sister and that is Stacie Conrad.

Closing the door of Dr. Evans office, Beca walks back to Stacie's room when her phone rings. Checking the caller, she immediately answers as she sees that it is Stacie's uncle. Beca had been the one to inform them of what happened when she was in a state of panic on the night of the accident, and now she feels guilty for causing so much worry to the Conrads. Stacie's aunt and uncle live back in Atlanta and hearing such news while being that far away is a million times worse than being in the hospital.

"Yes, please don't worry. She's doing very well and kicking," Beca smiles as she looks at Stacie through the glass panels of her room. Her best friend seems to be going through the clothes that Beca had brought earlier.

"No, you don't need to. I know how expensive the airfare is and Stacie wouldn't want you to waste so much money," Beca says, frowning as she observes Stacie inspect her stuff, picking them up with only her thumb and forefinger as if it was someone else's dirty laundry.

"Uhm actually, she's sleeping right now but when she wakes up I'll let you talk to her," Beca lies through her teeth. How could she tell them that Lauren's only daughter is going through amnesia and possibly, an identity crisis? For now, she decides it's best if she waits for Stacie's mental health to recover—even at the slightest—before breaking the news. And if it doesn't, Beca decides it would be best to painfully admit everything.

"You know me. I'm a soldier, uncle. I'm perfectly fine," she says in a lighter tone. "We'll be okay. You guys take care," she ends before slipping her phone back in her jeans pocket. Leaning back against the wall, she inhales deeply before exhaling slowly. It's too early for assumptions. It's too early to think of the worst and succumb to negative thoughts. Trying to throw away the heavy feeling inside her as she fills up a cup of warm water, Beca finally heads back and enters the room.

Stacie instantly looks her way and Beca swears that for a second the connection was almost electric that she had to look away for a moment, her hands getting busy as she works on making tea before serving it to the waiting brunette. Blaming the strange occurrence to her lack of sleep, Beca watches carefully as Stacie drinks and sighs contentedly as if warm tea was her favourite drink.

Sitting down on the bed facing her best friend, Beca observes quietly. She had to believe that the Stacie she knew was still in there. She had to feel it. So, she goes out of her element for a while, reaching out and opening her arms to hug Stacie, careful not to squeeze on her injured arm. The truth is, Stacie and Beca aren't really the touchy feely kind of friends despite being an open book to each other. Surely, they hug each other once in a while but an affectionate and playful shove, kick, slap or punch is usually what they share. But this was different, Beca had to confirm something.

Again, there was that electric feeling. It wasn't an uncomfortable feeling but it was definitely unique. Even as she closed her eyes, Beca already knew something was different. There was still a familiar connection but it wasn't like before. It's just something she just can't put into words yet. And it lingers in her mind even as they finish chatting about the first part of Stacie's life.

Obviously, narrating 23 years of forgotten memories wasn't a piece of cake. Especially if your name is Stacie Conrad. So by the time Beca had gotten to the part about high school, her best friend was already yawning. Finally, they decided that the story-telling had to be pushed back for later. By the time Stacie had gave in to sleep, Beca remained awake. After making sure that everything was okay she walks out the building for a much needed cigarette break.

Exhaling out a puff of smoke in the air, her nerves calm down at the effect. Looking up, only then does she notices the clear night sky above. Beca can't help but compare it to the night sky back in Georgia, wishing she could go back just so she could look up in the sky filled with stars and not skyscrapers and fake bright lights. But her dreams were here and unless she achieves them she can't go back just yet.

Stepping on the discarded cigarette butt, Beca finally walks back inside only to stop mid-step as her peripheral catches images on the TV. Unknowingly, her feet take her in front of the screen as she watches new updates about the beautiful singer-actress Beca is secretly attracted to. Currently, her manager is being interviewed. He himself had been on the same accident with the famous star. The brace on his neck, the crutch he was holding on to and the cuts on his face were proof how serious the accident was that Beca thought she was lucky to escape away walking. Her thoughts cut back to Stacie and if it wasn't for her friend shielding her from harm she'd probably be in a coma as well. The celebrity's car, on the other hand, had been hit twice before skidding near the bus Beca and Stacie were in. In front of the press, he looked like he was uncomfortable but what was more noticeable was the look of sadness on his face.

"Chloe's condition is getting better," he starts, his voice a little raspy but he struggles to go on. "Her family wants to thank everyone for their support and prayers," this time his eyes start to water in the midst of cameras flashing.

"We have faith that Chloe is going to make it through. We have faith that she would wake up soon. She's a fighter after all,"

The interviewers erupt with a barrage of questions but security has taken over and is now escorting Chloe's manager away from the crowd. A familiar woman with blonde hair and a poised look who stood by the manager's side took over and primly dismissed all of the questions, stating that they will be eventually notified on any further updates regarding the star. From the small labels appearing underneath the screen, she was introduced as Chloe's close friend, actress, movie director, and producer, Aubrey Posen, one of the more popular socialites in the business. The screen cuts back to the news reporters and some photos of the smiling blue eyed redhead from the club just before the accident. This brings Beca back to that night before everything went downhill. It was as if she was blessed with such a heavenly experience before slamming her whole world down the ground.

Rubbing her temples with one hand, Beca decides she's had enough and heads back to Stacie's room instead. She has other problems to focus on.

Like getting Stacie to ride the taxi.

"But Becs…" the tall brunette looks uncertainly at the yellow vehicle then pleadingly at Beca.

"Stace, it's not going to kill you," Beca groans as she opens the door. They've been having this discussion ever since the hospital has cleared Stacie for discharge. Everything was actually going fine until Beca tells her that they don't own a car. For some strange reason, Stacie has suddenly become allergic to dust and germs. Allergic meaning she will not touch anything that spells dirty, and that includes public transportation.

"Becs, can't we really just rent a car?" she pleads and Beca has to remind herself that bursting out in anger isn't getting them anywhere, and with Stacie's unstable mental health the doctor has advised her to be more understanding. Clearly, her patience is being tested right now.

"No, that's too expensive and we live just a couple of minutes away from here so it'll just be a short trip. We'll be there before you know it," she assures, placing a towel on the cushion for Stacie to sit on and then gently pushing the reluctant girl inside the vehicle. As soon as Stacie finally makes it inside Beca quickly follows before telling the driver the exact address.

Replying to a couple of concerned messages from her boss from the radio station she is working for, Beca quickly types her reply of assurance and hits send. The car ride was quiet and that makes her look at her companion only to find her staring out of the window like a child on her first field trip. After a couple of days in the hospital, Beca has sort of gotten used to the changes regarding her best friend's behaviour. One thing remains the same though, in spite of having different tastes they still easily clicked, especially when it comes to music. It was like having another best friend with the same face, if that even makes sense. Besides, she had to admit drinking tea wasn't so bad after all, much to Stacie's delight.

But then comes another problem.

It came in the form of a cocky grin, a greasy look and tattoos. It, had a name and it is Tyler Carson, one of the many bitter suitors Stacie has turned down. The guy didn't know when to stop apparently as he stood in front of their apartment building in his usual flirty self.

"Hey babe. I missed you," Tyler croons as he blocks their path. Naturally, Stacie looked lost at the appearance of someone she doesn't recognize, her uninjured hand instantly latching on to Beca's arm for security.

Maybe it was good thing that Tyler showed up, Beca actually needed to vent all her negative energy at someone. How many of these douchebags has she punched anyway? So many people have underestimated her because of her built. Standing at 5'2, it is easy for anyone to think that she won't be a threat. And that's where they're wrong. Because if there was a threat between the two of them, it certainly wasn't him. After all, Tyler Carson doesn't have a background in Krav Maga and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, two of the most brutal martial arts known in the world with the aim of killing and seriously injuring the opponent.

"Please, fart somewhere else," Beca lazily replies, taking a step forward, blocking him from Stacie.

"I'm not talking to you, midget," he says through gritted teeth before looking back at Stacie with a smirk. "You looking beautiful as always, sweetheart," he says before noticing her injuries and boastfully telling her that he'd have protected her. His assumptions that somebody has hurt her meant he had absolutely no clue what she and Beca had just gone through.

"And you look awful as always. Your breath stinks too," Beca points out with a sardonic smile, ignoring her best friend's incessant tugging. Stacie's pleas for Beca to stop and just ignore the asshole had gone to deaf ears. If the accident never happened, her best friend would have been cheering on her right now, and even instigating the fight. This could also be due to the fact that Beca hasn't gotten to the part about their action-filled high school life. So when she and Tyler's word war of curses and insults turn serious with the guy making a huge mistake by taking a jab on Beca's mother, that was all it took for the situation to take a sharp turn for the worst.

Beca hears Stacie's horrified shrieks from behind as she takes advantage of Tyler's finger pointing angrily at her face. In a quick motion, she takes and pulls his wrist, kicking him at the genitals. He buckles over only to have his face connect with her knee multiple times while she grasps the back of his head. Using her elbow, she slams it down hard again and again on his exposed upper back and it was clear that the guy had no idea what hit him as he staggers and falls down the ground, his nose and lip bleeding as he groans painfully. And when Beca takes a step forward Tyler instinctively curls into a ball, a frightened look on his eyes.

"Becs?" Stacie's weak voice stops Beca, her eyes still dead set on the man trembling on the ground. "Stay away from her, you piece of shit," she says in a low tone before stepping back and turning back at her best friend.

"C'mon, let's go," Beca says, her tone going soft as she sees the nervous look on her friend's face. She takes her hand and gently leads her inside the building, leaving Tyler and his pathetic form. They enter in silence until Beca waves at a Hispanic woman who is on her way out.

"When are you ever going to learn to clean up, delincuente? Now you can't even flush the toilet?" she says jokingly as she sees Beca and the _mess_ she made outside. Beca, on the other hand, simply shrugs with a face that is void of any apology. "I'll try next time, Flo,"

"And I'm happy you are back on your feet, hermosa. We need to go party and have fun!" Flo says with a wink aimed at Stacie, who pauses to look back at Beca for approval. "Oh, room 404, the fiery little chili from Guatemala," Beca whispers after remembering the tiny fact that Stacie doesn't remember the faces of people she told her about. The tall brunette's face lights up in recognition before giving a thousand watt smile towards Flo.

"Of course, that'd be awes!" Stacie replies enthusiastically back at the confused girl as Beca steps in to explain. "It takes a while to get used to but don't worry it's temporary," she waves dismissively, quietly adding a 'hopefully' in her sentence as Flo nods in understanding.

"Does… does that happen a lot?" Stacie asks as they reach their floor, stopping at a door labelled, 305.

"Partying? Oh yeah definitely. The people living in this building love to drink and dance," Beca says as she fumbles for the keys. "That includes you, Stace," she adds before unlocking the door. She stops mid-open however, as her best friend speaks up.

"No, I meant, what happened earlier with that guy," Beca slowly looks back at the brunette who was fidgeting with her hands. "It's just, when you suddenly did what you did, you… changed," Stacie looked at her for a second, she looked nervous as if Beca would suddenly hit her. Her voice lowers down that it was barely audible.

"It's like you went dark for a moment,"

Beca hated it. She hated that look of fear in her best friend's eyes. Stacie had always been confident, too confident and surely a far cry from what she is seeing in front of her. And she hates it that she caused it. She reaches out for Stacie's hand but before she could say anything the door next to theirs, room 306, swings open, and a blonde head peeks out from the inside.

"Oh yeah! Small bitch and tall bitch are finally here!" she yells back inside in an Australian accent as two more people pop out from the room.

"Hey Beca. Hello Stacie!" A guy wearing a sparkly suit with a matching magician's hat awkwardly waves as he introduces himself to Stacie as Benji. "The geek from 212" Beca subtly coughs as Stacie offers her hand. "Nice to meet you, Benji. I'd like to see your magic tricks sometime," the brunette kindly says and Beca sighs, preparing herself for another round of explaining later. She did tell people about Stacie's condition but she had failed to elaborate the part where her best friend has greatly veered off course from her usual ways. Meanwhile, Benji looked really happy to be acknowledged properly as he wipes his sweaty hand before taking Stacie's in an equally awkward handshake, he then produces a flower tissue out of nowhere for the smiling brunette.

"Name's Cynthia-Rose, but you can call me CR or anytime you like," the black woman with a stylish half shaved hair gives Stacie a look that spells trouble as Beca's best friend raises her eyebrows in amusement. "Womanizer at room 402," Beca supplies through gritted teeth.

"And I am Fat Amy, the resident party animal," the blonde woman with the Australian accent says as she slaps her bulging stomach. "Also the one with the most sexual charisma," she adds before being interrupted with a bunch of protests as they all point at Stacie.

"That title belongs to the tall one," CR motions over at Stacie as Benji nods excessively causing Fat Amy to roll her eyes and raise her hands in surrender.

"Alright, she gets that title then. Correction, I'm actually the prettiest one in the building," she states as everyone shakes their head and motions over at Stacie again.

"Nope, it's still this one," Beca says motioning over at her best friend with her thumb while Stacie looks back at her with a smile.

"I think you're the pretty one, Becs," Stacie speaks up with a serious tone, causing the silence to fall over the loud bunch. Her statement catches Beca off guard as she whips her head at her direction. Fat Amy's, _'She hit her head that hard?'_ and CR's _'Beca? I think I kinda' see it, kinda','_ audible in the background.

"What other drugs are you on?" Beca blurts out, her eyes showing disbelief especially when Stacie replies with a, "But you really are super pretty, Becs!" and before she could say more Beca quickly pushes her in their room with Stacie giving out a reluctant but equally quick goodbye. "I should let this tall bitch rest, see you later, weirdos," Beca hurriedly says amidst the questioning glances from their neighbours.

Once the door closes, Beca exhales a sigh of relief, having finally being back home. Despite the little hiccups along the way, it all went along smoothly that she deserves a pat on the back. Turning around, she pauses as she watches Stacie look around the place. Honestly, Beca fervently hoped that bringing her best friend back home might awaken a few memories but by the looks of it, that's far from happening.

"This is… where we… live?" that familiar tone makes Beca shake her head as she takes off her jacket. It is that same tone Stacie makes whenever she is faced with her archenemy, dirt. Well, it's not like Beca's too lazy to clean up. It's just that with the recent incidents, cleaning was the least of her worries.

Their apartment wasn't big nor was it too small. It was just enough for two people to live in. Two bedrooms, one bathroom, a small kitchen with a dining area, the living area on the far end of the apartment near the balcony and some simple furniture is perfect enough for Beca.

"Yes, we live here," Beca replies as she enters her room. She remembers having chosen the one near the door because between her and Stacie, she'd easily kick away the intruders, whereas, Stacie would have flirted with said intruders instead. And no way is Beca going to have another person hogging the already limited space in their home.

Opening her closet, Beca grabs a clean grey oversized jersey shirt and a pair of black cotton shorts. Pulling over her shirt and unbuttoning her pants she quickly slips in the comfy shorts before picking up her football jersey when she hears a gasp behind her. Turning around, she finds Stacie looking at her from the doorway, her eyes on Beca's ribs and she finds that the reaction doesn't even surprise her anymore.

"Beca, you're injured!" she points out the obvious to which Beca hums in response. Through the mirror in front of her, she looks at the huge angry bruise on her side, the black and blue shade colouring her pale skin. In spite of the pain she quickly puts on her jersey to hide it. But Stacie wasn't going to let go of it easily. Her best friend walks over to her side, slightly limping and lifts up her shirt again with her good arm.

"Where'd you get that? Did you fracture your ribs?" she asks, worry painted all over her face, her long fingers gently inspecting her injury.

Pulling it back down, Beca sighs before speaking, "Guess I forgot to tell you, we were together on that accident Stace," she says, trying to shrug off any concern. As long as she is able to walk then she's fine.

"What? But you've been carrying all the heavy stuff all this time, taking care of me and…" she trails off before speaking in a whisper, "You've been running around because I asked you to get me things," she says guiltily, her eyes casting downwards only to widen in surprise again.

"Oh my god! Your thigh!" she exclaims, looking at the wound covered in gauze before glancing back up at her again with that same guilty look.

"Uhm a shard of glass from the windows somehow pierced my thigh so," she answers nonchalantly. It was actually a gash but it wasn't deadly or entirely a hindrance on Beca's mobility.

"But why didn't you tell me? Isn't that like, painful?" she asks, her face grimacing at the thought. "Are you like bionic woman? Don't you feel pain?" her innocent questions make Beca chuckle. How did her best friend become so adorable all of a sudden?

"I'm serious, Becs!" one look into Stacie's worried eyes and she stops laughing.

"It's nothing, really. It's not like you could go walking with that ankle and besides, I've been through worse," she assures her but it seems she has chosen the wrong words when her friend's eyes turn to that of surprise and sadness. It was then that Beca remembers their earlier conversation which was abruptly cut off by Fat Amy and company.

"You're putting a strain on that ankle," she observes, looking down on Stacie's leg wrapped in a protective brace to help her walk a bit. "Sit down," she gestures over at her bed. Stacie complies and Beca joins her, sitting right beside her.

Taking in a deep breathe, she struggles to choose the right words to say and in the end it looks like honesty would be a good choice.

"I guess it's time I tell you about high school then," she says before looking back at Stacie with a small smile. The taller girl nods and that pushes Beca to continue.

"I've been bullied, a lot, back then for a lot of reasons," she starts, running a hand through her hair, a habit she does when she is anxious or uncomfortable about something like a bad memory. "Because of my family, because I look weak and easily bullied, because I was awkward and sort of a loner, because of how I dress and because I'm also attracted to girls as well—"

"So you were really serious about liking Chloe Beale and that _thing_ you secretly do while looking at her photos?"

"Dude! No…" Beca quickly objects, looking flustered before letting out a defeated sigh. "Okay maybe I do like her and that _thing_ I do which I am not going to elaborate any further, I do, maybe… sometimes," she quickly spits out, glaring as she sees the smirk creeping on her best friend's lips.

"Do you want me to continue or what?"

"Sorry, go on, Becs," Stacie says, that playful smile still on her lips.

"I will if you stop smiling like that!" Beca whines as Stacie lets out a giggle before clearing her throat and pulling out her most serious expression. It's weird how easily she does it, like she's suddenly received training in acting school. And she knew for a fact that Stacie sucked at acting. "I swear you are crazy and creepy—okay anyways, so where was I?"

"You liking girls," Stacie supplies, her eyes looking at her in amusement and Beca mentally groans but decides to just get it over with.

"Yeah that. So, I'd get into fights almost every day and end up with a bruises, cuts, wounds or something even serious,"

"But how is your father not doing anything?" Stacie asks immediately with a frown and Beca scoffs at the idea of her father caring about her.

"He thinks I started it. Basically, he doesn't really care and none of my explanations didn't matter so, I just... kept fighting," she says smiling sarcastically at the memory.

"But how about the teachers? Aren't they doing anything?" Stacie asks in disbelief while Beca could only give her a look that says, _'You really don't have any idea, do you?'_

"So you dealt with all that by yourself?" Stacie asks softly after a while and Beca was surprised to find her best friend's eyes watering. "You were all alone," she says as her hand finds hers and this time a tear rolls down her cheek.

There it was again, that familiar feeling, that electric spark whenever their fingertips touch. It slowly travels inside her veins until it reaches her heart to create this warm feeling and yet Beca still couldn't figure out what it was or what is causing it. It is confusing her and like anything that confuses her, Beca chooses to brush it off.

She looks down at their intertwined hands before looking up at Stacie, "No, I wasn't completely alone," she says, gently brushing her best friend's tears away with her free hand.

"I had this really cool best friend who would get herself in trouble with me because she hates it when I get hurt," she says with a light smile. "And she had an equally cool mother who brought me to those self-defence classes where I could not only channel all my anger out on but practice how to kick all those shithead's asses too," Beca explains, tucking a strand of Stacie's hair behind her ear.

"So, if someone disrespects my best friend I wouldn't hesitate to beat the hell out of them. Also, if I need to go out to get something she is craving for then I would, even if I had to crawl my way to the supermarket and buy that not-so-bad tea or that grassy stuff she loves to eat," this elicits a giggle on Stacie's part and before Beca knows it she is wrapped in another one of her best friend's hugs.

"Okay, you can stop wiping your snot on my shirt now," she jokes as the taller brunette's body shake with laughter and playfully slaps her back.

"You go get some rest. Just yell if you need me," Beca says as they break apart. Her best friend nods and despite Beca's assurances that she is perfectly fine, refuses to have her get up to help her back in her own room, stating that she's pretty much able to walk easily now.

Sighing, Beca starts doing her usual routine of washing her face and brushing her teeth before walking back to her room. She checks a couple of her emails and text messages coming from her friend Jesse who is ranting about his new boss, an urgent reminder from Fat Amy that she has to come to her _wild_ party and some girl whom she met at a bar a couple of nights ago before the accident. Ignoring the last message, she attempts to console a still very frustrated Jesse and assures Fat Amy that she will be at her party. Thinking about her best friend, she reminded herself to ask Stacie tomorrow if she wanted to go as well.

Surprisingly, as if she knew Beca was thinking about her, her best friend is again standing near her doorway, this time with a sheepish smile and a pillow tucked in her arm.

"Is there an evil bug in your room I should save you from?" Beca asks as she looks up from her phone.

"Wait?! There are bugs here?!" came the frightened reply as Beca mentally groans. Dust, germs, public transportation and now bugs, Stacie's ridiculous problems are growing in number.

"Occasionally they come for a visit but you don't have to worry about a thing because they'd eventually leave in peace," she says as calmly as possible to her best friend who is currently eyeing every corner suspiciously. As usual, Beca's choice of words bring no comfort at all. Unfortunately, it only seemed to intensify the fear.

"Guess you don't have a choice then," Stacie suddenly says as she walks over towards Beca. And before she could even ask Stacie places her pillow down on her bed before getting in herself.

"What the hell?" Beca says as she is forcibly sent to the side near the wall, looking dumbfounded at the sight of her smiling best friend getting under the covers with her.

"Initially, I was going to ask but since you brought up the bugs I'm definitely sleeping here. That way, you could protect me from those evil beings," Stacie simply replies in a very happy tone, putting the pillow underneath her injured foot and grabbing one of Beca's pillows to sleep on.

"Goodnight, Becs," she yawns before closing her eyes and leaving a stunned Beca, mouth hanging open as her brain is still trying to process what had just happened.

* * *

 **A/N: So the beautiful Ester Dean read my message on her Insta live and told me she loved me too. Apparently, I'm so happy which is why I'm updating. Thank you for all those who've followed, favourited and reviewed this fanfiction. Those things make me happy too :)**


	5. Lose Myself

**Chapter 5**

 **Lose Myself**

Chloe felt like the first morning when she woke up to the frightening feeling of being lost and disoriented. It didn't help that she dreamt of being back in her real body, hearing her mother sobbing and her father's strained voice desperately ordering the doctors to save her life. It felt real that she almost thought she actually went back.

Amidst the pounding of her heart and the cold sweat at the back of her neck, she jerks her hand back at the feeling of warm skin coming in contact with her own. She instantly looks over at her side and that's when relief washes over her.

Admittedly, waking up next to Beca has become a habit for her. It comforts her to be next to the rebellious but loveable female. It was the reason for her sudden invasion of Beca's bed space last night. Beca has only been the one thing constant in this weird and scary situation she found herself in. Besides, the developing crush that is growing every time Beca reveals a side of hers that she's only comfortable to show around Chloe—Stacie, actually—could also be the reason why she loves being around Stacie's best friend. She feels so special around her which was an irony because she's been held above everyone almost all of her life due to her social status. However, it was different with Beca, it's noticeably hard enough getting through the cold female's protective walls and earning her approval.

Maybe, she'd have to thank Stacie for giving her a head start and easy access to Beca's soft side but Chloe still firmly believes that despite that fact, she had felt a connection between them from the very beginning. Besides, she was basically acting like her usual self and not Stacie. She smiles when remembering the time her eyes first met hers. Those gorgeous blue eyes indeed are already reason enough to like the tiny brunette.

Shamelessly watching Beca sleep, Chloe still remains firm on what she said yesterday, Beca is beautiful. Even with her hair in a mess and her face without any of that dark make-up, her features alone are attractive. Not to mention that smooth expanse of exposed skin on those curves she accidentally saw last night which was enough to make Chloe blush at the mere thought of it. That, and those small tattoos peeking from her back and arms. It was just a shame that Beca herself didn't think it to be true. She remembered seeing the look on the tiny female's face that meant that she rarely gets called so. From then on, Chloe has decided that she would make Beca realize it. If there was one person who absolutely knew all about beauty and appeal it would be her. In her world, being beautiful is a must-have but she knew well, a pretty face isn't pretty if the person has a rotten personality. So, for Chloe, Beca is not only beautiful in the outside but also in the inside which makes her overall, close to perfect.

Recalling the tiny brunette's story last night even proves to show just how much Beca deserves every single love in the world. She'd have thought that growing up with such experiences and tragedies would make one an awful character but here was this strong female who despite all that, grew up to be so much better than most people Chloe knew. And because of that and for all the things the tiny female has done for her, Chloe is going to do one of the things she is extremely good at. Making people smile. Or better yet,

Making Beca smile.

Quietly leaving the room, she heads over to the kitchen to make breakfast. Step one of Chloe's 'Make Beca smile' project is feeding the always hungry female. It surprised her the first time she saw Beca chomp down a huge burger, pizza and large fries in one sitting because how can all that food fit in such a small body?

If Beca loved to eat, Chloe loved to cook which means living together won't be a problem. Despite having a personal chef, she often helps and cooks in her own kitchen during her downtime. It's just a shame that she rarely gets to cook for anyone but herself, except on special occasions like Christmas or on rare days that she spends time with her family. There's just something about having put so much effort in to something and then seeing people's faces light up in joy because of it. She lives for those moments.

Opening the fridge, Chloe's eyes are immediately assaulted by such disorganized placements of food, which are either wrapped sloppily in plastic or tossed aside anywhere. Back in her own penthouse, there was not a single thing that was out of place, a habit she got from her mother, which is why seeing what she is seeing right now has made her feel dizzy all of a sudden. Somehow it made her miss her equally—maybe even more—organized and sparkly clean close friend, Aubrey.

"I think I found the reason why I'm here," she mutters to herself, shaking her head before searching and taking what she needed.

If anyone would think that having an injured elbow would be a hindrance, Chloe's going to prove them wrong. If Beca can work with an injury so can she. How many times has she actually performed live while sick or with an injury? Countless times. Cracking eggs with one hand? Easy.

Halfway through her cooking, Chloe has managed to make coffee and toast. And despite having limited ingredients or limited mobility, she still managed to prepare a decent breakfast. Looking at her work, she is quite pleased to have pulled it off nicely. She had just placed Beca's coffee next to the plate when she hears shuffling coming from inside the room. In a minute a sleepy Beca emerges from the bed room, rubbing her eyes as she pauses to sniff the air like a puppy which Chloe found adorable.

"Am I dreaming? Am I in bacon heaven?" she asks sleepily as she makes her way to the table where her eyes suddenly widen at the sight of a perfectly plated breakfast consisting of fried eggs, bacon, beans and toast. She takes a sudden step back, looking around warily then back at Chloe who is standing at the opposite end of the table.

"Is this a trap?" she asks, looking very much awake as Chloe laughs at the reaction.

"Sit down, sleepyhead. I made breakfast," she simply says. "It's only a simple version of an English Breakfast because we don't have sausages, hash browns and greens. Please Becs, we really should buy vegetables," she points out as Beca slowly sits down, eyes glued on the food.

"Breakfast? Vegetables? What are those?" Beca says in her usual sarcasm before moving her gaze to the cup of coffee and again looking at her in shock. "Is that a butterfly on my coffee? Did you just make a butterfly out of bubbles?" she asks as Chloe looks at her before taking a sip of her orange juice.

"Well I wanted to make you a latte so I can make a better butterfly but we only have black coffee," she says sounding a bit disappointed while Beca only looked at her in pure disbelief, like she's grown another head. Chloe was just about to throw a playful comment about Beca being stunned by her amazingness only to almost choke on her juice with the tiny brunette's next words.

"Who the hell are you? What have you done with my best friend?" it comes off as a joke but it still made every part of her system jolt in surprise, as if she was caught doing a terrible crime. If Beca only knew how sensitive to her that question was.

"I-I…" she stutters which was a rare feat for someone who talks so smoothly in front of millions of people. But in spite of the fear she felt when breaching the subject, Chloe's curiosity rules over. She's always wanted to know what Beca's reaction would be if she admitted the truth. The truth that might even land her in a straightjacket and locked up in asylum.

"So… what if I was somebody else then? Like we met at a different time, different place… different body?" she inquires like she was just talking about the weather while playing with her food. "Would you not… like want to be friends with me, Becs?" her eyes remain focused down her plate as she anxiously waits for the answer.

The reply comes in a form of incoherent words, making her look up to peek at the other female only to find her with a mouthful of food. Beca holds up a hand at her, chewing fast and gulping down hard before speaking.

"Friends? Seriously? If you cook more of this delicious stuff I'd definitely marry you just so I could have mornings like this," Beca says without any hesitation before stuffing herself again with food and sighing contentedly. "This is so good,"

Unknown to her, Chloe's lips break into a huge smile which she tries to hide by biting on her bottom lip, a light blush creeping on her cheeks as she immediately takes a bite of her breakfast. That answer only made her morning perfect, no doubt about that. It was better than what she hoped for.

She was about to ask Beca what her usual mornings were like when the tiny female speaks up. "Hey, by the way, Amy is having one of her parties tonight. Apparently it's 'Aussie Wine Month' and 'Good Beer Week' in Australia which I'm pretty sure is just an excuse so she can drink more alcohol," Beca explains and Chloe already has an idea where this conversation is going.

"So I was wondering if you'd want to—"

"Yes!" Chloe quickly answers, sounding a little too eager than she expected whilst giving Beca a desperate look.

"Okay, party animal, we're going," Beca says but doesn't finish her sentence as Chloe squeals in delight. She's finally going to get herself completely hammered the whole night and for once not care about embarrassing herself in front of the whole world. Hopefully by the end of the night, she can finally put another huge check mark on her bucket list.

Her excitement never drops all throughout the day. Chloe doesn't even think that she's been this excited to go to a party. But first, like every party she has attended she is currently stuck with the usual dilemma—which clothes and shoes to wear. Currently, she's staring down hard at the clothes—Stacie's clothes— strewn all over the bed. She must admit, this Stacie has good fashion taste. It was almost like her own style except less expensive. If the heavens would finally return her soul back into her body she is definitely befriending this girl. She'd even go shopping with her and maybe even drag Beca with them as well. That girl needs more colour in her closet.

Speaking of Beca, Chloe peeks out of the room to find the brunette sitting comfortably on the sofa, snacking on some junk food while watching some crime-solving drama on TV.

"Becs?" she calls out and gets a hum in return. "What are you wearing tonight?" Chloe's question pulls the tiny female's focus from the screen to look at her.

"Shirt, skinny jeans, jacket," comes the quick reply before her eyes return back to the TV.

"That's it?" Chloe asks incredulously before clearing her throat. "What colour?" she tries again and this time Beca frowns at the question.

"What do you mean?"

"I meant the colour of your jacket, shirt and jeans you will be wearing in a couple of hours," she explains in a clear and concise tone.

"Oh, black, black and grey?" Beca simply says before shifting herself to lay down on the sofa, still hugging her junk food.

"Again?" Chloe asks, contemplating about her earlier decision.

"What—why are we talking about this?" Beca asks curiously as Chloe opens the door wider, to step out and face the tiny female.

"Because we are both going so we should match clothes," she says like it was any normal thing, at least in her world it was. She's had to always ask her friends what they'd wear to avoid getting the same outfit or simply just so they could match fashionably. Somehow, in this world she has found herself in, things run a little differently.

"Match clothes? Bitch, what is this kindergarten?" Beca snorts before digging in her bag of chips and eating a mouthful of it.

"You're saying that I'm childish when you are eating like a toddler right now? You, lazy bitch," she points out, looking at Beca legs sprawled out on the couch with her messy trail of chips. The crunching sound stops as Stacie's best friend looks at her, eyes wide as if she said something highly amusing and taboo at the same time.

"Oh was that sass and sarcasm I hear from you, miss I love tea and poetry?" Beca asks and Chloe slowly frowns, suddenly pausing to think. She has only been here for less than 24 hours and now she's acquiring some seriously bad habits, possibly from Beca.

"Oh god," she mumbles as the realization hits her. She's been nothing but polite and proper until today. Certainly, this place is already changing her and surprisingly, it doesn't even feel wrong. It actually feels quite liberating. Liberating but still confusing. Her thoughts were cut however, when a piece of junk food hits her cheek. She looks back at the direction where it came from, her eyes meeting a playful and devious smile.

"You did not just—" another piece of junk food is thrown her way and that was all it took for Chloe to grab a discarded bag of chips by the coffee table and throw its contents towards Beca, whose desperate attempts for her to stop are useless as she finds herself covered with junk food in a second.

"So you want to play like that?" Beca slowly says as she stands up, nodding while holding the huge bag of chips she still has in her hands and this time it's Chloe's turn to plead.

"Becs, I just came from an accident," she says as she starts taking a few steps back while Beca continues to walk towards her. "And I made you breakfast!" Chloe adds with a smile. That smile fades in a second as she finds herself squealing while she is being showered with potato chips. For a couple of moments they stand motionless, looking at each other before breaking into fits of laughter as they see the mess they made on each other.

And for the first time in her life, Chloe Beale feels free.

* * *

"Finally you guys are here! Welcome to the party!" Cynthia-Rose greets both her and Beca as they reach the party venue, which also happens to be their building's rooftop area. "Looking really good, Stacie!" Cynthia-Rose compliments as Chloe beams down at her outfit. After much contemplation, she had tweaked Stacie's dress a bit, cutting the long sleeves to make it shorter since she had an injury that required her to use a shoulder sling. The yellow dress run down to her thighs as she paired it with a pair of black shorts and a nice pair of black heels which thankfully, Stacie owns. It was simple yet chic.

"Oh and of course our birthday girl, looking evil as always," Cynthia-Rose says before opening her arms to hug a groaning Beca. Beside them, Chloe looks at Beca, stunned as she repeats Cynthia-Rose's words in her head.

 _Today is Beca's birthday?_

When the two break apart and Cynthia-Rose walks off after telling them where the beer was being held captive, Chloe immediately grabs on to Beca's arm before the tiny brunette could go further.

Their eyes meet and she could tell Beca knew what she was just about to ask, "Why didn't you tell me?" She couldn't help but feel guilty and disappointed at the same time. Guilty, for not learning about that very basic fact one must know when you make friends, and disappointed, that Beca didn't even try to inform her of that basic fact.

"Stace, it's just," Beca trails off, looking uncomfortable with the topic and Chloe wanted to understand why but she also knew she shouldn't force it out of her.

"Hey," she starts, taking Beca's hand. "It's okay, I guess this isn't the place for this conversation. You can tell me later," she says softly, squeezing her hand a bit. Beca seems to have relaxed after she said that so Chloe knew for certain that it's best to put it on hold for later. "Let's just go have fun!" she suggests instead with a smile as she drags Beca, who shakes her head and smiles, towards the crowd.

It was a nice setup. There were a string of colourful lights tied from different poles and corners hanging above them, different sorts of couches—probably from different rooms of the building—loitered the edges of the rooftop and a table on the left side where all the snacks and alcohol were located. The view wasn't as great as the view of her penthouse but that didn't matter. What mattered most to Chloe was the music. There was an acoustic band named 'Dunkoff' playing at the other end of the place-led by main singer, Bumper who is also the most annoying person in the world according to Beca-while people swayed and danced at the center. Chloe nods her head to the music naturally as Beca hands her a beer bottle which she has never tried before. Truthfully, she was more of cocktail and wine kind of girl but Chloe already decided to take the opportunity to try everything, even cheap beer.

But then again, cheap beer is without a doubt cheap for a reason. "Ugh, what is this?" she says in disgust, almost spitting out the bitter liquid as Beca smiles. "How can you drink this awful stuff?" she asks, watching Beca down the beer with ease.

"The thing is, you don't drink this awful stuff for the taste," Beca replies, bumping her bottle against Chloe's before drinking. Chloe was about to say that drinking doesn't have to be excruciating and horrible when Fat Amy walks over to them, smiling with her arms wide open.

"You bitches made it!" she says, pulling them both in a bear hug to which they both simultaneously replied with complaints, Chloe with her injured elbow and Beca's ribs.

"Sorry, I keep forgetting how fragile you twigs are," she says as they both try to regain composure.

"The twigs accept the log's apology," Beca automatically replies before adding, "And you do know we live in this very building so if we failed to be here either we are sick or too lazy to come up," Beca says in a matter of fact tone.

"It's an awesome party, Fat Amy!" Chloe compliments genuinely as Fat Amy bows comically to acknowledge it.

"Oh you are going to enjoy it even more," Fat Amy boasts before leaning closer to her and whispering. "And I've got the 'good stuff' that'll probably knock your brains 'till you remember _everything_ ," she winks and Chloe curiously looks at her, meaning to ask about what sort of 'good stuff' Fat Amy was talking about—if it was even legal because if not, her mother would definitely kill her—But before she could get a clear explanation she finds herself getting dragged to the other end of the rooftop. Instinctively, she quickly glances behind her, relieved to find Beca following them. By now, she has accepted that it feels wrong and weird to be without Beca's presence. The brunette has unconsciously of become Chloe's anchor, her safety blanket, whenever she feels lost or uncertain.

In a minute, Chloe finds herself part of what Fat Amy and Beca's close circle—literally a circle—of friends. Sitting on one of the couches in between Beca on her left and Fat Amy on her right, Chloe looks around at each and every member of the group.

She recognizes Flo from yesterday animatedly talking to two girls who introduced themselves as Jessica and Ashley, the roommates from room 309, next to them sat an Asian girl named Lilly, or Resident Crazy as Fat Amy calls her, from 501 who keeps staring at her creepily like Chloe had done something so taboo. Then there's Benji who looked like he was already tipsy with how red his face is becoming. His roommate Jesse, a close friend of Beca, or that's how it seemed when they did that secret handshake, sat close to the tipsy magician to pat his back every now and then while discussing his horrible boss—to which Beca jokingly suggests, _'sabotage the monster's favourite coffee with some substance that will get him running to the toilet like his life depended on it'_.

However, the contemplating look on Jesse's face is becoming a little worrying and Chloe is genuinely concerned that the guy would actually take the joke seriously. But before Chloe could sway him otherwise, Fat Amy's announcement of the arrival of the mysterious 'good stuff' has taken everyone's attention. Cynthia-Rose, who earlier, seems to be extra busy with Denise from 411, hollers and takes out shot glasses. Before Chloe could even fully comprehend the situation, she is suddenly thrown into all sorts of drinking games with basically only one goal: Getting everyone drunk and happy. Especially when the first game has Fat Amy yelling, _"Why do we play it?"_ to which everyone including a highly amused Chloe screams, _"To get fucked up!"_

Fat Amy's 'good stuff'—which turns out to be gummy bears soaked in Russian vodka—was the main culprit of their 'happiness' along with the other kinds of alcohol she managed to sneak in—Tequila from Mexico and Gin, Bourbon and of course Bundy from Australia—Apparently, the Australian's boyfriends—yes, plural—from different parts of the globe, have sent it to her.

Hours later, they are buried in games like 'Gin Face', which Chloe still thinks is unsanitary where after they excessively profess their deep love for gin, drink 2 gulps of it from one bottle and fight every urge to make a face. Thankfully, Chloe's acting chops have saved her from drinking more as penalty. Then there is the hilarious 'This Is My' where one has to rename _various_ body parts. Followed by a series of card games that got everyone screaming and crying in either anger or happiness. All of it, which surprisingly Chloe who had never known such games existed, enjoyed tremendously.

It was until everyone is on the verge of being completely hammered, if not already, when a round of 'Body Shots' is proposed by Fat Amy, a drinking game Chloe definitely knows and has seen but never really done—because a drunk Chloe Beale doing raunchy activity in a popular club is going straight on the tabloids for everyone to feast on.

By now the people in the party have greatly lessened. Even their circle has a few disappearances. The first one was from Benji, face planting himself down another couch after the first game, his face doodled with black and red markings. The second had been Cynthia-Rose, who mysteriously vanished with Denise, doing god knows what. Thirdly was Lilly, which Chloe was thankful not to have someone boring holes with such stare towards her anymore. And lastly, Ashley who is probably still puking out her dinner in the bathroom downstairs.

Beca who had been just as reluctant as Chloe to play the game had tried to give out excuses not to do so _—"My sexy ass is too hot for this game which will kill you all so I'll go,"_ —but was caught by Fat Amy who knew Beca's escape tactics too well and held her down before Stacie's best friend escapes into the shadows. A one-round only compromise has been made and Beca finally agrees which makes Chloe agree as well, because ' _YOLO!'_

So now Beca is spinning an empty bottle while Chloe who watches on, her head spinning with the bottle—curse those damn gummy bears!—doesn't really register what was currently happening until everyone is looking at her with excessive delight. Looking hard at the bottle, everything starts to click as she freezes and blinks. Unbelievably, the _evil_ bottle has chosen her.

"We got to make this one very interesting," Jessica states, directing her thoughts towards Fat Amy who, of all people, will be deciding which of Chloe's—Stacie's actually—body parts should Beca's tongue land.

"You guys know that none of that matters because Stacie is like my sister, right?" Beca reminds them, looking like it wasn't such a big deal. A huge opposite to the massive mental battle Chloe is currently going through because Beca's smooth expanse of skin is again blocking her thoughts from thinking straight. In addition to that, the alcohol hitting her system isn't helping her case.

"C'mon Amy, hurry up! Let's get this over with," Beca whines, the alcohol controlling her emotions as well.

"Alright, you impatient dwarf," Fat Amy starts, hushing down the absurd suggestions all their intoxicated friends are trying to pitch in. "I declare…" she pauses, her hands up in front of them while she smiles like a crazed maniac.

"Body shots in the danger zone," she proudly says as excited squeals and hoots are heard from their hyped up group. Whatever Fat Amy's words meant, Chloe is sure that it meant something big especially when Beca groans and opens her mouth to protest. But Fat Amy raises her hands up again to shut her down.

"Ah-ah! I'm not done yet," she sings irritatingly while her eyes look around deviously. "Because this is a two-way love shot!" she finally drops and even Jesse is squealing like a teenage girl. But this only confuses Chloe even more as her frown increases, her eyes looking around for answers but everyone is just too busy being high to tell her. Even Beca's screams of Fat Amy being unfair were immediately drowned out by the group's ridiculous chants of "Incest!" along with clapping and stomping of feet.

In the end, Beca accepts defeat by taking a Tequila shot glass with one hand and a piece of lime in the other. She then faces Chloe—who gulps down hard at the inappropriate thoughts in her head—as if she is waiting for something. Fortunately after an awkward 5 second pause, Beca recognizes the lost look on her face and leans forward in a lower tone to explain. Their close proximity has Chloe trying to grasp the words coming out from the female's lips—those sweet, sweet lips—

"You have to lie down for this," the words suddenly break Chloe's muddled thoughts as her eyes widen.

"What?!" she exclaims as Beca nods to confirm just what she said. When she meant about knowing how 'Body Shots' work, she expected the less explicit version of it but it seems Fat Amy was aiming for _that_ kind of 'Body Shot'. "Stace, I need your abs for this body shot then you're going to have to do mine," Beca simply explains, confirming Chloe's thoughts before glancing at Fat Amy darkly. "Since the Australian whale said it was a two-way love shot which also means we got to put on a show,"

However, noticing Chloe's shock, Beca's tone softens, "But… if you aren't comfortable with it then—"

"Do it," Chloe suddenly says that even she is surprised at what she just blurted out carelessly—again, those damn gummy bears! Maybe it was the thrill of the new experience or being unable to decline the expectant looks on their friends' faces that made Chloe say so. Or maybe it was those attractive dark blue eyes paired with that devilishly sexy smirk and then again that smooth expanse of skin her lips will be tasting in a minute. Besides, her audience have only reduced to their small group since most of the people are passed out in whoever's room they've passed out on, just like a still unconscious Benji in the corner.

Beca offers her the lime as she gently bites on to it while Stacie's best friend faces her fully, knees on the sofa positioned on both sides of Chloe's legs. Chloe's back hasn't completely settled down on the sofa when she feels Beca's hand slip under her dress and slide upwards, hiking up the fabric to expose her—Stacie's—bare stomach. Chloe's breathe hitches at the contact of Beca's palm against her skin. Silently, she thanks Stacie for taking care of her well-toned body as much as Chloe does to her own because it surely is a confidence booster. However as soon as she feels mentally prepared to take the next step, her heart pounds hard at the sight of Beca hovering above her.

"Relax," Beca softly whispers and Chloe realizes just how tense she is. She steadies herself when Beca's gaze holds her own. Beca's hands continue to push the fabric upwards, stopping just underneath her breast and even as she lets go, Chloe could still feel the heat from the contact of Beca's fingers leaving a trail on her bare skin.

Shrieks of delight erupt from their drunk group masking Chloe's surprised noise coming from her throat when she feels the cold liquid being poured on her stomach, pooling in her belly button and slowly spilling on her sides. Looking down, her eyes flutter at the sight of Beca lowering her head down to suck on the liquid. Chloe bites hard on the lime to fight the moan her body is unconsciously wanting to do. But this proves hard to do when she feels Beca's tongue gliding against her skin, her hands gripping Chloe's sides to hold her in place. Chloe's insides twist as she feels Beca's lower lip dragging upwards towards the salt placed just above her stomach. Beca darts her tongue to lick it before crawling her way up to meet her at eye-level, her hand now on both sides of Chloe's head as she lowers herself down, tilting her head to the side to bite on the lime. Unintentionally, Chloe holds her breath as she feels Beca's lips brush lightly against hers before parting.

Only then does she realize just how confidently natural Beca was during the whole thing and Chloe wonders just how many times has Beca done it with various other lucky people. The way her tongue moved so sensually against Chloe's body was already a preview to how _skilled_ she was. Brazenly, Chloe could only imagine just what it would be like to be underneath Beca in different circumstances. The racy thoughts were enough to make her blush furiously and for once she is thankful for the alcohol covering it up.

Honestly, none of Chloe's few previous relationships have made her feel even as close to what she just felt. The sex was good, yes, but none of them had made both her body and mind go this crazy so effortlessly—and that was only Beca's lips on her skin. It was just so different. Beca is different. She had never dated anyone like her. There was danger in those dark blue orbs and Chloe had never danced with danger before. For some reason, her current situation is waking up all sorts of desires she didn't even knew was inside her and that's just the thing she had avoided all her life.

Those were the very thoughts that continue to cloud her mind as Tequila slowly flows down Beca's exposed skin. It was like watching something extremely delectable yet forbidden in front of her very eyes. Chloe's dry lips beg for even a small taste of it and that was more than enough for her to throw the very last ounce of control out the window as she gives in to her cravings. She drinks the smooth liquid, her head moving up and down as her tongue slowly runs across Beca's flawless pale skin. When her lips reach the large bruise near Beca's ribs she becomes gentle, careful not to inflict any pain. She then licks the salt off before looking up at the piece of lime in between Beca's lips. It's probably the strong power of alcohol finally knocking her senses hard, but she ends up losing balance and falls halfway, her lips landing on the small curve on Beca's neck, just above her collarbone—having a wild reaction from their crazy friends. Besides, having only one hand mobile added a little bit of difficulty.

Trying to shake it off, she picks herself up when she suddenly feels Beca's hands cupping her face, her head lifting up to meet Chloe halfway and for the second time that night, Chloe's breathing hitches as Beca's face comes inches from her own. Both their legs tangled up as Beca's latches on the back of her own in order to support herself in getting up. Beca's lips graze hers once more as Chloe takes a bite of the lime and the effect of it leaves her on some kind of high, her mind unable to digest any more sense of what is happening.

The next thing she hears is Beca's triumphant—and drunk—howl before pointing mockingly at Fat Amy as she squints her eyes. "Try harder," she challenges the scowling Australian. Beca's infamous smirk is back on her lips as Chloe feels the smaller female's arm draping around her neck.

"We've already seen each other naked and even peed together, nothing new," Beca slurs while motioning over at Chloe. And if only Beca knew just how much the warmth of her breath hitting Chloe's neck is affecting her. However, after a long pause, the words the other female said hits her.

"We peed together?" Chloe asks in disbelief as she leans her body towards Beca since she'd surely end up on the floor without the female's support.

"Baja road trip, stopover restroom out of order and lots of shrubs," Beca recounts vaguely as she looks up in thought, grimacing at the memory before resting her head on Chloe's shoulder. This then triggers an idea in Chloe's mind as she smiles. "We should go," she speaks out delightedly as the rest continue with the game—Jesse is face down the couch as Flo pours out too much Tequila than intended on his lower back.

"To the restroom?" Beca asks stupidly, lifting her head up only to have Chloe pull her back down just as quick. The movement is dizzying for someone who has drunk too much alcohol that Beca's head lands hard on her shoulder, both of them groaning in pain. The situation brings out the giggles between them. They get it right afterwards and Beca settles comfortably near the crook of her neck.

"I meant we should go on a road trip, silly," Chloe corrects her as she rests her heavy head on top of Beca's while they watch Jesse helplessly protest about his drenched pants _—"My underwear is wet! This was my favourite"_.

"Yeah let's go. So we could stay on that cheap sex motel like last time when we got lost and we can play our favourite game of _'Is she faking it or feeling it?'_ ," Beca suggests as Chloe giggles.

"I have no idea how that game works," Chloe throws back in the same sarcastic manner, pausing before she adds, "But that sounds fun so, whenever you're ready," she slowly grins and they both burst out in to laughter.

"Alright," Beca finally says in a more serious tone. "Let's go on a road trip," Taking the bottle of Tequila, Beca messily pours them both a shot before handing one to her. Beca raises it up in the air as Chloe follows her.

"To going on more adventures and getting into lots of trouble," Beca says out loud as she looks back at Chloe with a knowing smile. This causes the corner of Chloe's lips to pull upwards as she repeats every word, taking it to heart because that's exactly how she wasn't to spend this borrowed time.

At that moment, she was sure, this would be the greatest adventure of her life and she won't be spending it with anyone else but, Beca Mitchell. And with that, she downs the liquid in one go. She'd probably throw up like Ashley, pass out like Flo on the floor hugging the bottle of vodka, wail miserably like Jesse or go wild like Fat Amy, who is currently standing near the edge, looking out to the next building while yelling out absurdities and flashing her boobs out. Behind her, Jessica frantically crawls over to stop her. In the end, Chloe winds up tumbling down the stairs with Beca as they laugh uncontrollably over the smallest of things.

"I can't find my other shoe!" Chloe cries out over and over again as she looks around before bumping her head against Beca's jaw. They both flinch and react in pain until Beca points at the 'missing' shoe Chloe has actually been holding the whole time.

"Found it," she exclaims as Chloe frowns at it, like she is looking at an entirely unknown specimen before raising her voice, making Beca bump her knee on to the railing in surprise. "You've been here all this time?!" she shrieks looking at the shoe like it had done something so vile.

"I've been looking for you for hours!" she continues as she leans her back against the wall, holding up the shoe. "Yeah tell him," Beca adds, looking at Chloe's shoe as if she was cursing it in her mind.

"Bad shoe! How dare you leave your poor wife alone," Chloe accuses while motioning at the other pair she was wearing.

"Naw, why'd you do that, shoe?" Beca says in such an exaggerated tone, shaking her head like a 3 year old throwing a tantrum as she clings to the metal rails while they continue their very unstable descent downstairs.

Stumbling and bumping on to each other or the wall, they finally make it to their floor. Chloe is basically rolling and crawling at the corridor as she clumsily attempts to wear her shoe. "You should always be together, forever," she drunkenly mumbles while Beca tries to open the door using her key chain, a black musical note which she keeps trying to fit in the knob.

"Open…" Chloe slowly calls out, dragging out the word as she presses her face against the door. "…sesame," she continues in the same manner, closing her eyes while humming, her hand rubbing against the wood as if she was petting a dog.

Beside her, she hears Beca curse out loud while still trying to open the door. This makes Chloe hold on to her arm and Beca stops to look at her. Leaning closer, eyebrows furrowing, Chloe whispers, "I think you're doing it wrong,"

Beca looks down at the key chain and a look of clarity draws on her face. "Ah, shit, wrong side!" she groans as Chloe nods. Beca then uses the other end of the key chain and continues trying to open the door.

After almost 30 minutes of grunting, shushing each other, laughing hysterically, knuckles and knees banging on the door and more giggling, Beca finally manages to open the door. Once inside, before they could even reach the sofa, they both trip and fall with Chloe landing on top of Beca. "My ribs," Beca groans, her voice sounding strangled and in pain as Chloe's face lands on the smaller female's chest. Thankfully even in her drunken stupor, Chloe had it in mind to fall on her good arm, saving her injured elbow from any more damage.

There was silence afterwards as they continue to lay motionless on the floor before Beca's voice is heard once more, "Ow! Did you just…bite me?!" Beca asks in utter disbelief as Chloe's sluggishly sings the modified lyrics to Rihanna's 'Birthday Cake'— _I really wanna' bite this. It's so enticin'. Nothin' else like this. Imma' make you my bitch. Becs. Becs. Becs. Becs—_

"Oh dear lord," she hears Beca tiredly groan, hushing her down by hugging her tighter, Chloe's lips silenced against her skin. Her muffled, _"I made it your song and I can ask my friend Riri to change it,"_ quickly shushed yet again by Beca.

After another minute, they gently fall into unconsciousness and the last thing Chloe feels is Beca's arms wrapped warmly around her as they snuggle against each other on the floor. It is in that moment that brings Chloe to one thought.

Maybe it's not so bad to live like this for the rest of her life.

* * *

 **A/N: Busy week. So updating before I return to the real world. I'm just a little disappointed that none of the Bella's recent "Ester Dean" updates have Anna and Britt together. But well they'll probably hang out again soon.**

 **Back to the story, lots of crazy fun and adventure coming for those two. Taking it slowly and surely because I like it like that. And easy? nah easy is boring. Chloe is developing a toner for our alt girl~ Next chapter will be up early next week? I think.**


	6. Lifetimes

**Chapter 6**

 **Lifetimes**

Chloe dreams yet again. This time, she sees her best friend, Aubrey, by her side. The blonde beauty who always maintained perfect composure despite being under immense pressure looked so broken. Rare tears rolling down her cheeks as she holds on to Chloe's hand. Aubrey sniffs and wipes her face as she tells Chloe just how much she misses her. And Aubrey being Aubrey, proceeds to give her an update about Chloe's impending projects, her upcoming movie which the producers decided to have her body double finish the remaining stunts needed and lastly, how they decided to cancel the release of her album. Chloe had to smile at that. It is very much like her friend to even think of such things despite the situations. She goes on to tell Chloe that she's got everything covered regarding legal matters, medical matters and even steps she would take to physically recover quickly. She tells Chloe that she needed not worry anymore. That all Chloe needs to do is open her eyes. Aubrey's voice resolves into a whisper as she begs sadly into her ear, the blonde's arms wrapped around her.

" _Chloe please come back to us. Wake up,"_

Chloe's eyes snap open to the blinding bright light which made her shut them back once more. Groaning from the pain shooting from all over her body, she tries again and this time she looks around blindly in panic before calming down at the sight that greets her, Beca's fresh face staring down at her.

"Oh god, it's alive!" Beca jokes as she playfully pokes Chloe shoulder. Swatting Beca's hand away, Chloe can't help but smile at the start of her morning despite sleeping on the cold hard floor all night—another first on her list of things she has yet to experience in life. The next best thing her eyes see next is a mug filled with warm lavender tea. A little something Beca has prepared for her. The warm drink does the work in hydrating her system, soothing her very dry throat. But unfortunately, not from keeping her from rushing to the bathroom while Beca holds her hair and rubs her back gently. She felt like a loser and is very much embarrassed that Beca had seen her in such state.

"Welcome to the adult world, my sweet child," Beca teases, much to Chloe's embarrassment.

Chloe grimaces as she feels a huge headache constantly pounding on her skull, the bright sunshine outside was attacking her eyes and for once in her life she hated seeing it. When she reaches the dining table after dizzily bumping into stuff, she sits down heavily, clutching her aching head with her good hand as Beca pushes a bowl of noodle soup and a plate of scrambled eggs her way.

"What did you do to me?" Chloe grumbles before opening her eyes to look at Beca angrily as she hears the other girl chuckle. Beca's smirk is back on her lips as she leans forward to speak that Chloe's nostrils are invaded by the heavenly scent of Beca's shampoo filling up her lungs. It was enough to make her muscles relax.

"Oh baby, that's what they all say until they come knocking at my door desperately begging for more," her teasing words are enough to make Chloe's brain undergo another malfunction as bits of memories last night flashes into her mind. With her face slowly getting red, she covers her face with her hand, shaking her head.

"I hate you," she manages to say as she hears Beca laugh. "C'mon what's pleasure without a bit of pain?" Beca continues to tease as Chloe groans. "Stop it," she pleads, her cheeks obviously blushing as more memories of alcohol on smooth skin assault her poor brain.

"I actually like you more when you're drunk," Beca states, knuckles underneath her jaw as Chloe peeks at her from between her fingers. The amused look Beca is giving her doesn't give any comfort at all. Because she is almost sure that whatever she is about to say next doesn't sound good.

"I also had no idea that you make good lyrics when drunk," Beca says and Chloe feels a bit relieved that nothing crude was thrown her way. Writing songs is her line of work and Aubrey had told her a couple of times that she even sings in her sleep so it's not really that surprising. That is until, Beca opens her sinful mouth again. "Because I'm pretty sure, Rihanna is going to be ashamed to have not thought of those lyrics in the first place," and with that Chloe's relief vanishes into thin air.

"What?" Chloe squeaks uncertainly, confusion written all over her face as Beca brushes her off with a wave of her hand. "Never mind, that's not what's important," Beca simply says before adding, "It's what you _do_ when you sing those lyrics," she makes a circling motion with her hand while trying to decide the right words to use.

"You become a little…" Beca trails off once more before slowly breaking it down for her. "Aggressive," she finishes and Chloe is already dreading whatever she had done last night. She and Beca couldn't have possibly done _that._ Well, she'd definitely remember if they did. But then Beca graciously makes it easier for her when she tugs on the collar of her shirt to reveal pale skin peppered with love bites which, according to the look Beca is giving, Chloe _decorated_ last night-along with some obvious hints of some unexpected groping.

"Oh god," Chloe murmurs, blinking as she tries to remember exactly _when_ or _how_ she did it. Because in her short history of relationships, she's never recalled herself doing something as kinky as that to her previous partners—there are only three of them, mind you.

But when Beca starts saying the lines of _that_ Rihanna song she was talking about earlier, Chloe's whole body freezes at the memory. "Oh… god!" she blurts out as Beca slams her palm on to the table. "Finally! She remembers!" Beca says out loud before staring at her accusingly although, the glint in her eyes tells Chloe that this teasing is highly entertaining for Stacie's best friend. "Now, explain yourself," she urges on, her eyebrows perfectly arching upwards and Chloe shakes her head in defeat. She has no answer for that so she goes to the only escape left, deflection.

"Why aren't you looking like you've drunk as much as I have?" she asks in frustration. "You're so unfair. And why didn't you even stop me!" she mutters glumly, taking a bite of the scrambled eggs with her fork as Beca laughs lightly at her innocent little rant.

"Years of experience," Beca answers as she checks her phone. It takes Chloe a few more moments before she realizes Beca isn't wearing her usual sweatpants or shorts and oversized shirts. The female looked like she was going out today.

"Where are you going?" she catches herself asking as Beca stands up to check her black and brown messenger bag, stashing her keys and phone in it.

"Work," Stacie's best friend answers shortly and that wakes up a couple of Chloe's brain cells. For someone like Chloe who has worked since she was a child, she had unbelievably almost forgotten about that basic human activity. It's true that because of her injury she had been lazily spending days indoors that she failed to ask about what exactly it is that Stacie and Beca do for a living. She certainly wasn't on vacation but most probably on 'sick leave'.

However, Beca wasn't entirely healed either. Chloe still notices the subtle movements and the dark eyed female wincing whenever her left arm moves excessively, careful not to hurt her ribs. Which brings Chloe to wonder what the rush was.

"Already? But you're not completely healed yet," she speaks her mind out while Beca sifts through a pile of envelopes on the kitchen counter. Without looking back at her, Beca lifts up one of the envelopes and answers, "Got to pay the bills," she says before adding, "And I'm practically fine,"

Chloe backtracks to Beca's words and silently contemplates about it. She never really cared about those stuff. It's usually her manager, Alex, who arranges those things for her. That, the grocery and laundry were all left in someone else's hands as she has no time for such 'menial' things. Ever since she was young, her fridge had been always full, her clothes clean and ready, and everything she wanted or needed are already handed for her to use. Cooking and shopping is basically the only activities she does after work. Of course, there is the usual dinner out with friends or co-workers, and the occasional formal events or club invites is what her life has always revolved around. She never exactly worked to pay the bills. She worked because that's what she loved to do. She's passionate about it and not forced to do so. It is admittedly tiring yet, then again it gives her joy.

But now she fully grasps that most people outside her world, just like Beca, work to survive. She watches quietly as Beca goes through each envelope filled with bills for rent, credit cards, phone bills, medical bills, and other stuff that they needed to pay. Somehow, this fact makes Chloe wish she was still in her body so she could just pay for all those bills with just a press of a button. But she wasn't, she is trapped in Stacie Conrad's body and she can't do anything but—

"Becs?" she starts in a small voice, getting embarrassed again, this time for upcoming question hanging in the back of her lips. Beca finally looks back at her with curiosity when Chloe goes silent, urging her on.

"Um, what exactly do we do again?" Chloe asks shyly, hoping that it's nowhere near illegal or dangerous, or something along the lines of strip dancing because, no.

"We work at the radio station," Beca answers, scratching her forehead while Chloe gives an internal sigh of relief. She can do that, radio stations are like close to music and anything involving music is something Chloe could do. Her smile fades however, when Beca points out that the radio station is their _day_ job.

"Wait, you mean, we have a night job?" she asks feeling stupid and clueless.

"Yup, we serve drinks at the local bar downtown and then at weekends—"

"Weekends?!" Chloe interrupts in shock because then this would mean that they work 24/7 and she can say goodbye to social life and lazy afternoons. This would then also mean that achieving her bucket list will be impossible if so even in this borrowed life. But then again, like always, Beca has a way of surprising her and it comes in the form of words.

"Dude, chill. We have music gigs on the weekends but not every time," Beca assures her as she leans her hip against the counter. This answer has Chloe's heart soaring because that would bring her back on stage again and she greatly misses being on it.

"You sing?" Chloe asks in glee, her face lighting up at the thought as Beca pulls herself away from the corner to return back at her seat in front of her.

"Yes, I do but not that much. Singing is actually _your_ job and mine is composing the lyrics, playing the song and re-arranging beats," Beca trails off and this time she is the one who looks uncertain while Chloe is just itching to ask more about Beca's musical talents because she certainly needs a new music producer for her upcoming album. She's even mapped out the plans in order for Beca to collaborate with her. Now if she could just get the intriguing female to sing and listen to her work when Beca's voice cuts her thoughts short.

"And about that, we actually have a gig this coming Saturday…" Beca begins and Chloe gets momentarily distracted with that sexy lip bite the smaller female just did. "I really wanted to ask you for a bit of a while now if you wanted to—"

"Yes! I'd love to sing, Becs!" Chloe quickly supplies excitedly, lightly bouncing on her seat and forgetting her hangover for a second.

"Do you remember the singing gigs we used to do?" Beca's question sounds hopeful and Chloe feels slightly guilty because it was obvious that Beca sincerely wishes to have her old friend back. If only Chloe could tell her how uncertain that might be and that the truth is, the girl sitting in front of her isn't Stacie Conrad but Chloe Beale. Admittedly, she hated lying and keeping something this big in front of the girl she is without a doubt, attracted to. But how does one exactly break the news that Beca has been living with a different person for almost a week now? This has been Chloe's biggest dilemma and without a solid solution to her current problem, in the end she settles with a little white lie.

"It's a bit blurry but I think I do remember singing," her words instantly bring a smile on Beca's face which makes Chloe feel even more guilty for keeping her hopes up.

"That's great! Okay, we could do a few rehearsals and maybe you'd finally start remembering more," Beca's happy tone is unmistakable and Chloe feels like changing the topic.

"Can I listen to your songs?" Chloe asks, looking expectantly at Beca who nods.

"Sure, but I'm going to leave you to it since I'm running late," she says hurriedly, standing up to head inside her room and emerging in a minute with her laptop in hand. She sets it in front of Chloe who is surprise to see that Beca's desktop wallpaper was an awesome photo of the galaxy which admittedly, Chloe didn't expect. She figured maybe Beca would have placed something connected to music instead. This just made her even more fascinated by the mysterious Beca Mitchell.

But before Chloe could even ask or point it out, Beca was already rushing out, placing painkillers for her on the table, leaving a few reminders—call me if there's an emergency, do not smile, wave or talk to strangers or follow Fat Amy into the dark—and a quick _'See you later, lightweight,'_ which makes Chloe smile as she yells back, _'Come back home quick,'_ before re-directing her focus back to the laptop.

She instantly opens one of Beca's folder labelled, 'Songs', picking the track called 'Cosmopolitan' and as the first beat is heard, Chloe's body instinctively moves to the rhythm. All her doubts about Beca's musical abilities washing away completely as she realizes one thing—she really needs to collaborate with Beca. And it wasn't because of the attraction she is helplessly drawn towards the appealing DJ but because Chloe's trained ears find her tracks refreshing and catchy.

Anyone in the music world who has worked with Chloe Beale knew just how high her standards are. There have been quite a huge number of tracks being offered to her which she politely turned down just because she couldn't _feel_ _it_. It was like musician's instinct that draws her to the tunes and beats she wants to play around with.

But just as she thought that it couldn't get any better, her whole world stops as soon as she hears Beca's smooth, clear voice on one of the tracks. The talented female might not sing much but Chloe believes she should do it more. Because certainly that kind of voice is not meant to be hidden and Chloe can already hear her own voice melding so perfectly with Beca's flexible vocals. It was like ice-cream on a hot summer day or a gentle breeze overlooking a wonderful scenery and it sounded so heavenly that Chloe ended up listening to the entire track wondering why she is hearing such talent only now or why Beca and Stacie haven't auditioned for a music company yet. And if they did then the people who have listened to them are seriously deaf which then gratefully, gives Chloe an advantage because she undoubtedly wants them on her record label.

One thing is clear though, Chloe has finally found her new featured artist and producer.

She'd absolutely love to sing Beca's songs and mixes. Maybe she could suggest a few changes and tweak things a little but other than that she can't wait to be a part of Beca's art. Luckily, Stacie's voice is beautiful and she has to admit, although still quite weird, how smart her soul was to trap itself inside someone who sings. Chloe didn't have a hard time adjusting to it when she tried singing in the shower a couple of days ago and was actually pleased at the outcome.

Having listened to almost all of Beca's songs and mixes for hours, Chloe had her curiosity start to get the best of her as she browses through Beca's folders. Her desire to learn more of the intriguing female taking over. She clicks at a certain folder to find some of Beca and Stacie's old photos which she found endearing. There was one where the two best friends looked so young that they probably haven't even entered high school. Stacie was beaming showing her braces as she had an arm around a tight-lipped Beca, who looked like she was forced to be in it. She truly envies such friendship as she looks at every single photo of them together having loads of fun, posing wackily or celebrating a special event.

Moving to the more recent ones, the photos from New Year's Eve got Chloe laughing out loud as she recognizes their crazy gang of dorks and misfits—Fat Amy stuffing sausages on her mouth in some kind of eating competition, Flo dancing drunkenly on top of a table, Jessie sleeping inside the bathtub with his mouth hanging open, Cynthia-Rose drinking from a keg of beer, and, Jessica and Ashley singing karaoke with matching 'Sappy New Year' clothes.

Chloe pauses at the sight of Beca in one of the photos. The DJ was sitting, one leg stretched out on the ledge while the other dangling below, her body facing towards the left but her head facing the camera and pulling out that _illegal_ smirk Chloe gets flustered with. She is holding a red electric guitar in her hands which Chloe saw sitting in a corner of her bedroom yesterday. Sitting next to Beca, Stacie had one arm around her neck and the other raising a champagne bottle up in the air. The leggy brunette had her eyes shut tight and mouth wide open as she squeals in delight. The looked extremely happy despite the tons of crap that thing called life throws at them. After last night, Chloe had a taste of what that kind of fun feels like. She could only hope that when the universe realizes that she should return to her own body, she could keep hanging out with them.

Sighing, she was just about to stop and shut down the laptop when another folder catches her attention. It was the only vaguely labelled folder with only as much as a dot. Without much thought, her fingers trace the cursor to the cryptic folder and the second her eyes adjust to the contents, her body quickly shoots up straight because inside it was another folder but this time it was labelled as, 'Chloe'. What are the chances that this 'Chloe' might be her? She met people at Fat Amy's party and none was named Chloe. Beca never mentioned a Chloe in any of her stories or acquaintances, well maybe except if it was someone from work she didn't have any idea of. The only time the brunette mentioned the name was when she confessed to being a fan of hers the first—or technically, second—time they met. In conclusion, the chances are high.

Without wasting another minute, Chloe enters the folder with her name on it only to gasp, her jaw hanging open at the sight of her photos, music videos, her movie, several of her interviews and all the songs of her last album. Her shock comes from the fact that when Beca said that she 'liked' her, she expected the typical fan, posters on the wall, her albums and a DVD copy of her movie on the shelves. But when she arrived in Stacie and Beca's apartment she was slightly—greatly—disappointed to find none of that. There wasn't even a single trace of _her_ in Beca's room. So, she concluded that Beca's 'like' for her wasn't really that big at all.

However, seeing what's in front of her now, she realizes that this 'like' wasn't as small as she thought it was or at least, how Beca makes it sound. Chloe smiles as she finally understands, she is Beca's dirty little secret and surprisingly, she is very pleased of it. With the way the alluring DJ kept her hidden in layers of folders and mysterious labels. And to think that she was the only celebrity Beca has been 'stalking' was making her feel special. It wasn't the creepy obsessed type of stalking, Beca is actually a genuine fan of hers. Chloe has real stalkers, she knew how obsession works and Beca isn't _that_.

Her eyes scan the contents of the entire folder until she sees another folder— _this is getting really deep, Becs_ —labelled 'To Chloe'. Getting a bit excited, Chloe clicks it. Besides, it's certainly for her so, she had every right to do so. And that's when she finds out that Beca had written a song for her. Chloe's heart tightens as she starts to read the lyrics. The very fact that Beca had made her a song was enough to move her deeply. Unfortunately, unlike Beca's other creations, this one didn't have any melody to it, not yet. There was only the lyrics which was written, according to the date, two years ago.

Her eyes kept reading and the more she swam deeper, the more she understood the meaning. It was a love confession hidden behind the metaphors. It talked about a person who sadly, would never know or look at the other the same way. That maybe in another lifetime, they'd have a chance together. Beca had described her features, from her red hair, down to her blue eyes and even the scar on her forehead. Beca had only used the best descriptions, creative and lovely. It wasn't those typical cheesy love songs. It was sincere, deep, honest and sad. The underlying question of _'What if?'_ and _'Maybe'_ visible in Chloe's eyes as something inside her starts to feel heavy. She places a hand over her chest as a melody starts playing inside her head. It was beautiful.

Somewhere in the middle of the song, there was a line that made Chloe re-read it over and over again. Because if she gets what Beca is trying to say here, then is it true? Could it be possible? Because those words could only mean one thing, she and Beca may have met in person two years ago. But how? She'd definitely remember it if they had. With those magnetizing deep blue eyes, how could she even forget? But then the prospect of having met Beca before was just too good to be true. Of course she had doubts.

Those doubts linger as Chloe hurriedly searches through photos stretching back two years ago and that's when a photo catches her eye. It was of Beca and Stacie in the radio station, possibly the one which Beca had mentioned earlier. Memories that have scattered in Chloe's head start to come together and the coincidence was just too much for it to be true. So, Chloe decides that maybe it's just best to confront Beca about it when she comes home.

In the meantime, it's better to keep herself busy with other things instead. After quite a long nap, Chloe woke up and looked around the place, trying to come up with what to do and that's when she noticed the state of their apartment.

Chloe has always been very sensitive to cleanliness. Because that's how she grew up. With a mother who is equally, if not more, obsessed about having a well-organized and spotlessly clean home. So, here she was cleaning the house. Every once in a while, Chloe pauses to think about what she accidentally found earlier and the more time passes, the more impatient she is getting. What if she and Beca did meet years ago? Did she really let such opportunity of holding on to the talented brunette go? Now if only Beca could come home right now then maybe the turmoil in her head would stop.

But then even after she had finished cooking dinner, Beca still hasn't returned. The night goes deeper and Chloe is starting to worry. So before she goes crazy, she dials Beca's number and after four heart-stopping rings, Beca's voice finally comes through.

"Is this an emergency?" she asks in that usual laid back tone and Chloe heaves a sigh of relief.

"It's almost midnight!" Chloe immediately blurts out, her tone filled with concern.

"I know," comes the nonchalant answer which gets Chloe to stop her pacing.

"Then why aren't you home yet?" she asks in all seriousness only to get a laugh in return. "Why, you missed me that much?" Beca teases and Chloe could feel the heat rising up in her cheeks because that was spot on.

"I-I was just concerned. It's really late and it's dangerous out there," she babbles, trying to shake off all the horrible possibilities one might encounter while walking alone at night. "…and I made dinner," she quietly adds, waiting for an answer but there was only silence that Chloe thought the connection died.

"Becs? Hello?" Chloe looks at her phone to confirm her thoughts and all types of danger is quick to swirl inside her mind. She was just about to call back again—or dial 911—when she hears a soft click and the door of their apartment opens.

"I'm hom—" Beca's words are cut short as Chloe surges towards her to engulf her in a hug. The force from her hug was strong enough to have Beca stumble a few steps backwards. "Uh, long time no see?" Beca chuckles lightly while patting Chloe's back.

"Do you come home this late every day?" Chloe mumbles against Beca's shoulder. Beca smelled of coffee and cigarettes, and despite Chloe's hatred for the latter, she breathes it all in.

"Just the weekdays," Beca replies before the silence takes over, both of them still in each other's arms.

"Hey, Stace?"

"Yeah?"

"I missed you too," Beca softly admits and this brings a huge smile on Chloe's lips. She was just about to ask how Beca's day went when another pair of arms wrap around them both.

"What's going on?" Fat Amy whispers and Chloe can't help but let out a giggle at that.

"We missed each other so we're having a moment here, along the corridor," Chloe replies happily.

"How did I get involved in this again?" Beca huffs as the two girls ignore her. Her attempts to pry Fat Amy's hands off Chloe's back remain futile.

"You girls are so comfy," the Australian hums before releasing them and heading into her own unit but not before yelling, 'Goodnight lesbians," winking at them and shutting the door.

"Night Amy!" Chloe says before waving at Cynthia-Rose who was passing by. "Looking sweet, you two," she comments, nodding appreciatively while Beca sighs, pushing a grinning Chloe back inside.

"Okay rule number one, no more hugging in the hallway," Beca lays out as soon as they get inside and Chloe pouts at that.

"But why? I like hugging. Hugging feels nice Becs," she defends as Beca hangs her jacket.

"Not when you have weird neighbours lurking around," Beca explains before pausing a bit and lifting up a plastic bag in front of Chloe's crestfallen face. Inside, two pints of dark chocolate and strawberry ice-cream. That does the trick as Chloe's lips split into a huge smile once more. She looks expectantly at Beca who eyes her suspiciously.

"What?" the DJ asks, tilting her head a bit.

"Can I hug you again?" she asks innocently and Beca sighs again before slowly opening her arms to welcome a squealing Chloe.

It was only at that moment, does Chloe realize just how much she hates being alone even more. Ironically, despite being constantly around people she still felt lonely. Usually it was bearable but ever since the accident things started to feel different. She's always been the bubby little sunshine hopping around a sea of flowers but never truly connecting. There's always something missing but she can't seem to place it or figure out what it is. Then here comes Beca, and somehow, with just her presence, being in her arms Chloe doesn't feel that way anymore.

"Thanks for the ice-cream, Becs," she says genuinely after a couple of moments and gets a hum in reply.

"Guess I don't need to adopt a puppy. I already own one, apparently," Beca jokes, lightly patting Chloe's head.

"Nope, not a puppy. I'm a kitten," Chloe corrects her.

"You're impossible," Beca groans before Chloe finally breaks the hug.

"Shut up, this kitten made you dinner," Chloe's words instantly has an effect on Beca as her face lights up instantly. They've already established earlier that anything Chloe cooks is something Beca would devour in seconds. But then just like yesterday morning, Beca pauses, taking a step back a bit in surprise as she notices the state of their apartment.

"Hold up, this isn't where we live," she says uncertainly while scanning the whole place. It's funny how Chloe had already predicted that very reaction. But she can't blame Beca either. Everything is—finally—placed in perfect order. From the sofa's throw pillows, which were strategically placed to look simple but classy, to the dining area, which is almost shining at how clean it looked like. If Beca opened the fridge, she would have seen how organized everything is, labelled containers stacked neatly and all. Overall, the whole place looked brand new.

"Is that…?"

"Lavender," Chloe answers as she fixes the table, frowning a bit as she looks at the fork on the table and straightening it out to a perfect angle. "Jessica and Ashley gave me some of their lavender incense," she explains towards Beca who looks at her in disbelief.

"I got bored," the intense gaze from the dark eyed female urges her to finally admit.

"We should get you bored every day," Beca points out as they both sit down in front of the table, Chloe sitting across Beca.

Having already finished eating dinner, Chloe settles with the ice-cream Beca bought for her as she observes the hungry brunette eat in front of her. The burning question is hanging at the tip of her tongue. She must have been watching Beca intensely in strange silence as the aspiring DJ finally sighs and drops her fork.

"What is it this time?" she suddenly asks, her eyes looking up to catch hers.

Being met with no other choice, Chloe finally decides she just can't hold it in any more. "Have you met, Chloe?" she suddenly asks, waiting breathlessly as Beca blinks back at her words.

"Are we talking about Chloe… Beale?" Beca slowly asks back, squinting at her.

"Yes, _that_ Chloe," Chloe fidgets with her fingers, still finding it weird to be talking about herself in someone else's body. She carefully watches Beca's features and unfortunately she is getting nothing because Beca's face is currently unreadable. After a few tense moments, Stacie's best friend inhales and frowns before slowly lowering her hands down the table.

"And why is this important again?" Beca asks as Chloe exhales in frustration.

"Just answer the question, Becs—have you met her? Talked to her face to face? Please, just tell me," she pleads desperately and Beca's gaze lowers back down to her plate, using her fork to poke on her food.

"Yes," that was the only answer that leaves Beca's lips as Chloe feels the whole world outside go silent.

"W-When? How?" Chloe stutters, her mind reeling back to all the possible scenarios, all those fan events, concerts and places she had been to years ago.

In the end, Beca gives in and her answer is something Chloe doesn't expect.

"I never… told anybody about it, even you, Stace," Beca begins as Chloe listens eagerly, still surprised at the admission. "I met her two years ago inside a restroom," Beca smiles lightly at the last word, her eyes staring blankly in thought and Chloe is completely lost.

"What—did she say anything?" she asks after quickly composing herself. "How was she like?" she wasn't really curious what others perceived her to be but right now it really mattered. Beca's possible answers is actually making her nervous. She also wanted to slap herself for being unable to fully remember the special memory but her troubled thoughts cut short when Beca speaks again.

"Her heart… was shattering and her tears kept falling but still, she looked so damn beautiful," Beca confesses softly and suddenly the memory two years ago vividly clears. Her predictions earlier were right and Chloe's chest tightens.

She and Beca had indeed met two years ago.

Beca was the girl she'd been looking for.

* * *

 **A/N: Oh man late update. Been too pre-occupied but anyways here's chapter 6 and a cliffhanger. Sorry about that but no worries all your questions will be answered in the next chapter. I like to take this slowly but not too slow. One thing's for sure, there'll be more Bechloe moments coming.**

 **Also I do hope that that Sendrick will be roomies in their Mexico vacation like what Fat Amy said in her snapchat. Hope they post a lot of updates 'cause that means that I'll be posting chapter 7 real quick due to unmeasurable happiness. :)))**

 **Thank you to all those who followed and favorited this fanfic!**


	7. Hypnotised

**Chapter 7**

 **Hypnotised**

 **2 years ago**

"Smile, grumpy ass. It's not the end of the world," Stacie teases, her smile playful as she eyes a very furious Beca. The shorter female now looking morose with her arms crossed in front of her. And the reason for her dark mood? The neon pink and silver tight mini-dress they had to wear with the logos of all their radio station's event sponsors printed at the back of their 'uniforms'. The race girl outfit, as Stacie describes it, came with matching visors where the name of their radio station, KSCK 91.5, was displayed. However, it would have only been slightly better if today didn't happen to be her birthday as well and Beca has already detested the cursed day ever since she was young. She just knew things were about to go down to hell.

"I didn't sign up for this shit!" Beca growls in a low tone as her best friend, who looks perfectly content with what she is wearing shakes her head.

As new interns for the station, they had been instantly chosen to do what Beca calls the most pathetic part of the job— _'yeah throw the newbies down the underworld to make it rain!'_ —Which also meant, going out to do field work by handing out the station's giveaways to the concert goers.

Initially, Beca had been thrilled to be part of a huge event because of course, musical festivals are just awesome. That is until her eyes land on their 'uniforms'. Her allergy to the offensive colour immediately acting up. And to make matters worse, the length of the dress which ran down to her thigh made her get up on her feet and bolt out to turn in her resignation. If Stacie hadn't grabbed her by the hair and tackled her down the ground to slap some sense into her, pointing out that one night of suffering is better than quitting like a loser and destroying their chances of achieving their dreams, Beca would have actually left.

Looking at the bright side, the neon pink and silver face paint that covered half her face saves her the embarrassment of being easily recognized by anyone who knew her. She chose a huge star that was drawn over her eye which would have been cool if it was black instead while Stacie chose a heart, a very obvious choice.

"But we're going to see the concert for free!" Stacie says positively before eyeing a cute guy hanging out with his friends near their booth. "And some bonus eye-candy," she smoothly adds, giving out a flirtatious wink at the guy who smiles back. But then when Beca's frown doesn't dissipate, Stacie tears her eyes off her potential conquest and fixes a pointed stare towards Beca.

"You, lack sex," she shamelessly says, a hand on her hip as Beca glares back at her. "This constant shitty mood of yours is just months of sexual frustration, Mitchell. Now if only you'd say yes to my birthday gift then you'd be less of a grumpy bitch tonight," Stacie reminds her while handing out a bandana and baller to a girl and flashing a fake smile towards the people stopping by their booth.

"And you have too much sex, Conrad," Beca bites back before adding quietly, "And no, no to birthday sex with whoever it is you're trying to hook me up with,"

"Still, better than none," Stacie smoothly replies before nudging Beca as a group of giggling girls make their way to their booth. "So stop being a whiny hoe and flirt 'till the panties drop," she says with a smile as Beca sighs heavily.

Beca finally looks up, mustering whatever kind of smile she can conjure. "This is the worst day of my life," she says through gritted teeth.

What feels like a thousand more people later, the concert finally takes off and Beca has to admit it did make-up for her bad start. But still, Beca's dark cloud hasn't entirely disappeared all throughout the first half of the event. She's probably broke her own personal record with the times she has said 'fuck' in more ways than one—the non-sexual way. It sucked to be wearing high heels and tripping around wires while running errands around the stadium. It was in the middle of the event when finally Beca had gotten the chance to go for a bathroom break. However, since this was in fact the worst day of her life, two stalls had been out of order due to some plumbing technicalities, leaving only two other stalls with the first one occupied by lovers who just can't wait for the concert to end and the other is being infested by someone who has ate too many oysters. Exhaling in frustration, Beca had to run off to the restrooms backstage on the other side of the huge open oval stadium—the men's restroom is so tempting but she isn't as confident as Fat Amy.

Fortunately, the perks of working for the radio station grants her a pass to enter the backstage. Dashing to the restroom at the far end of the stadium, she was almost in tears to find it empty. Berating herself for not thinking of heading there in the first place, Beca quickly enters a cubicle and sighs in pure relief as she does her business. She was almost done when she hears the clacking of heels on the floor, paying the least amount of attention to it since she is finally for once, blissful. But then she hears a female voice echoing through the restroom's walls.

"So it's _my_ fault now?" the girls asks in an accusing tone and Beca figures out that she's on the phone given that she hears nobody else with her.

"And me being _busy_ doing what I love is the problem? What I do is a part of me, you already know that, Sean!" the female's tone is now clearly upset and Beca is now conflicted whether or not she should wait it out or flush the toilet to announce her presence. But then before she reaches for the knob what she hears next stops her.

"So what? That's it? You'll just throw it all away just like that?" the questions Beca already has an idea of rush out like a tidal wave. "Don't make me choose, that is so unfair!" the female's voice cracks at this and Beca could almost feel the pain.

"I love you… and I love my job," her words come out in between sobs. "Don't do this to me now, of all times…" her voice falters into more broken whimpers.

Shaking her head, Beca has had enough of it as her hand lands down on the knob, flushing the toilet before unlocking the door to finally step out of the cubicle. She's already made a mental note to quickly wash her hands, get the blue marker's stains off her wrist she got while dragging around equipment and get back to their booth as soon as possible.

The female on the phone immediately goes silent and Beca feels like crap for being in the wrong place, at the wrong time. She turns on the faucet, washing her hands while the other girl stood motionless at the other end of the sink. Beca is careful not to make eye-contact but through her peripheral she notices the redhead looking down at the phone clasped tightly in between her hands, the conversation obviously finished.

Beca works quickly in silence but as she quickly glances at her reflection in the mirror—flinching at the disgusting outfit, visor and face paint. Her hair is tied up nicely, a section of it braided by Stacie—what she sees next to her makes her whole world stop. Unconsciously, her eyes remain glued at the other person's reflection in the mirror, the female's soft red locks falling down her shoulders as she discreetly wipes off her tears with her shaky hand.

Chloe Beale.

Awkwardly, she quickly averts her eyes away and blinking back down to her wet hands. Looking around for the paper towel dispenser, Beca realizes it was hanging next to the famous singer-actress. Walking over, she reaches out to it from behind the well-known celebrity that is, after mentally deliberating whether to reach out in front of her or behind her. The scent of Chloe's perfume is like Beca's perfect paradise and Beca swears she'll never ever forget it. It's the sweetest thing she has ever inhaled, that even as she steps back, she could still smell it.

Maybe it was because she has a soft spot for those who've been abandoned by those they loved, or maybe she's barely trying to get through this cursed day by redirecting her anger on all the other things and had somehow gone insane in the process, who knows, but before she even made sense of anything or what she was doing, Beca's hand reaches to untie the bandana from her wrist, one of the radio station's giveaways, and silently offers it towards the miserable female. The famous star looks at it in surprise once she notices the kind gesture, clearly not expecting it. Beca watches as Chloe finally lifts up her head and that's when their eyes meet.

Beca's heart almost stops at the movement, Chloe Beale is insanely beautiful, her lips and her bright blue irises were so hypnotising that she couldn't look elsewhere. There were no solid words to describe her perfection. She, like most celebrities had this intimidatingly bright aura that make all the peasants like Beca wither away from. So, it wasn't surprising when Beca suddenly felt so small. She almost withdraws her outstretched hand, apologize profusely and hide back into the shadows. But then before she could do so, Chloe reaches out to take the bandana, her soft fingertips coming in contact with her own that Beca almost winces at the contact. The connection was electrifying but it's probably all in her head.

She watches Chloe's eyes staring down blankly at the fabric that had been tied on Beca's wrist for hours. It was only then that Beca realizes how her hand is still outstretched towards the famous singer in mid-air but before she drops it down, the next thing she sees is red locks on her face while she feels a pair of arms encircling around her tightly. Dumbfounded, Beca blinks once, twice, thrice and only when she inhales more of that heavenly scent does she realize that Chloe Beale is in her arms, crying her heart out on her shoulder.

Beca's arms slowly wrap around the sobbing girl, her hand caressing Chloe's back before moving upwards to her hair as she whispers slowly, "I know, it hurts and it sucks. I know," the memories of Beca's childhood forcing her to swallow down the huge lump forming in her throat, hugging Chloe back just as tight like she was her lifeline while her eyes sting and her vision starts to blur. Deep down something stirs inside Beca like never before and unconsciously it's as if reality was so far away.

It feels like time has stopped.

"Don't listen to them when they tell you it's going to be okay. You're only going to feel even worse later so, you'll find comfort in the fact that you can't possibly sink any lower 'cause you're already down there," Beca continues, her voice faltering half way through but she struggles to go on. And in that moment, she doesn't feel the gap between them and even momentarily forgets who she is currently holding in her arms.

"What am I going to do?" Chloe's shaky breath hits Beca's hair, her shoulder already wet from the other female's tears and Beca figures she really doesn't mind.

"Wallow in misery until you get tired of it then find a god damn ladder, climb up and fuck 'em all up by looking so damn fine. Like whatever they did meant nothing, like they hadn't left you any wounds, and then just smile until the wounds become scars," Beca gives out her unfiltered answer without even thinking twice. It was experience that taught her that. Not many may understand but she feels Chloe's body shake as she lets out a small laugh, nodding along with a soft,

"I'll do that,"

They break away from each other after another long minute as they awkwardly stand in front of each other, wiping tears and chuckling at how stupid they must look. Chloe mutters an embarrassed 'I'm so sorry' multiple times and Beca shakes her head, assuring her that it was nothing and mumbling an, 'I kinda' needed that too, actually'.

Feeling uncomfortable with another round of awkward silence, Beca specifically being bad at such things, she finally blurts out needing to get back to work before walking straight out the door but then again, it seems her brain is seriously in need of repair today as she abruptly stops.

"Chloe?" she finds herself saying, turning around to find the redhead looking back at her. And for the second time, it took Beca everything she had not to get lost in those pools of bright blue once more.

"Don't worry, I didn't hear or see anything," Beca re-assures her in the only way she knows best, wanting to let Chloe know that she wasn't one of those opportunistic people. Her words were rewarded with a smile and it was already enough to disarm her defences.

"And uhm you have a very lovely voice. I like listening to it," the words spill out of her lips before she could stop herself and for a second her mind goes blank.

"Thank you, really. Thank you so much," she hears Chloe say, the sincerity evident in it, smiling even bigger before Beca turns to hurriedly walk away as fast as she could, getting lost in the crowd, flustered and thankful that the paint on her face is doing a great job hiding the faint blush tinting her cheeks. Only when she is nearing their booth does she realize how fast her heart was beating and as she stops, her palm goes up instantly connecting to her forehead with a sound akin to a slap.

"You have a very lovely voice?!" Beca repeats her words earlier, groaning miserably. "The hell is wrong with me?" she mumbles lightly bumping her forehead several times on one of their booth's metal poles. The only comfort she has is the fact that she and Chloe Beale would most probably never bump into each other ever again. Therefore, the superstar will eventually forget and Beca can just easily bury the whole thing down to the grave, along with the memory of those stunning baby blues, sweet red lips, glossy hair and the warmth of her body. Unconsciously, Beca smiles at the thought.

She must have looked crazy at one point with the way she catches herself doing just that every once in a while before trying to regain focus.

"Who is it?" Stacie's teasing voice suddenly asks from behind making Beca jump in surprise.

"Who?" Beca asks innocently, clearing her throat and quickly busying herself by re-arranging their items. Stacie smirks and Beca already recognizes the ominous sign.

"The person who _relieved_ you of your frustrations in the restroom an hour ago. The one who probably gave you a very delicious _birthday cake_ ," Stacie sneakily says as she leans at the booth and Beca mentally curses at how well her best friend knew her.

"There's nobody," she dismisses hoping to escape Stacie's not so subtle inquiries but the opposite just happens as her best friend's face lights up almost immediately.

"I knew it! There is somebody!" Stacie exclaims as she slaps Beca's butt, making her flinch and glare at her thrilled best friend.

"Nobody means no one," Beca insists but Stacie, as usual, wasn't believing any of it.

" _Nobody_ smiles like that if nothing _dirty sexy_ happened so, hurry and spit it out, Rebecca!" Stacie demands excitedly and Beca's mind quickly chooses a random getaway.

"I just saw Bruno Mars backstage on the way to the restroom!" Beca screams out loud since the crowd cheers after a performance. Stacie seemed to weigh in on that answer and Beca was afraid she could easily spot the lie. Thankfully, the host introduces the next big act and a name pulls Beca's attention away from her best friend.

"Chloe!" fans scream on the top of their lungs as Beca's eyes never leave the stage. Honestly, she was worried. If the singer had just broken up with her boyfriend then how does one perform on stage in front of the world and look like she is having the best time of her life. Well, she doesn't really know for certain if Chloe really did choose to follow her advice after all.

The lights flash around as Chloe hits the stage, her smile as bright as sun as she belts out her songs and dances powerfully to the beat. She almost has Beca fooled, that or by some miracle she and her actor boyfriend—that asshole—have reconciled within the hour since Beca last saw Chloe. After a song, the singer puts up her hand in the air and Beca's eyes widen at what she sees. Tied around Chloe's left wrist just under the sleeve of her leather jacket, a pink and silver bandana, the same one she had been wearing all evening, the one she gave to the singer an hour ago.

This small detail makes Beca's lips break into a genuine smile every time Chloe waved that hand up in the air, like a small sign of appreciation. It made her feel good, it was like a little secret that is only shared between them both. And to be honest, it actually is. Nobody else knew, nobody but the two of them.

The music festival ends after two more main acts. Two nights later, the world will soon find out of the shocking break-up and Beca realizes three things.

One, that night of the music festival is probably the best night of her life.

Two, not only does she like Chloe's latest album, she also likes Chloe Beale, not the famous superstar but the girl whom she met hours ago.

And three, even though she still denies it, a part of Beca would love it if the universe would just grant her, even for just one day to at least see Chloe again.

One day.

* * *

 **Present time**

"If you keep staring, I'm going to have to kick you out of my bed," Beca drowsily mutters with her eyes closed before slowly opening them to look at her best friend who, chose the other edge of the bed near the wall this time— _'cause you need to protect me from ghosts, Becs._

"You have long pretty eyelashes," Stacie tells her as she looks intensely into said eyelashes that Beca had to look away at the close proximity, settling her gaze towards the ceiling instead. Weirdly, her heart is beating at some crazy rhythm which Beca doesn't understand and it seems to happen a lot these days especially around her best friend.

"Go to sleep," she orders but instead of doing just that, she feels the bed shift a bit as Stacie holds up her head using her good hand, lying on to her side and continues to look at Beca.

Sighing, Beca shuts her eyes before opening them again. "If you are going to say something please just say it," she exhales and just as she has predicted, the leggy brunette opens her lips again. Beca feels her hesitate for a second before seemingly deciding to just go for it.

"If Chloe Beale asks you on a date will you say yes?" Stacie asks and Beca groans at the question. "Go to sleep!" she repeats, facing the other direction, taking her pillow and burying her head underneath it. She knew she shouldn't have spilled her secret to her nosy friend because of this very reason. The way Stacie looked at her when she told that small story of her meeting Chloe two years ago had been priceless. At first she seemed shock then after she described how she felt meeting the famous superstar it's like Stacie won the lottery and the hottest man on the planet. She should have controlled her emotions and Beca swears that the next time she decides to keep a secret from Stacie it will last forever.

"But I'm serious, Becs," Stacie says and Beca feels her rest her chin on Beca's shoulder. "And I'm scared of those ghost stories Flo told me a while ago. Now, I can't sleep," Stacie explains in what sounds like an adorably vulnerable tone and Beca hated it. She hated that all these different changes her best friend is showing is making it very hard for Beca to resist her.

Finally giving in, Beca takes off the pillow covering her head and slowly turns to lie on her back once again. Her best friend smiles, looking at her eagerly as soon as she faces her once more.

"Next time, you shouldn't listen to stories that aren't even real. Ghosts are just a figment of your imagination. It's all in your head and look, I'm literally right next to you. Nothing and nobody is going to hurt you with me around so close your eyes and go to sleep," Beca says in hopefully a reassuring tone.

"True, I feel safe when I'm with you, Becs," Stacie replies sincerely and Beca was just about to close her eyes when she speaks up again.

"So… is it a yes or a no?"

"You're not going to stop, are you?" Beca sighs.

"Unless you give me an answer," Stacie playfully adds and Beca could only shake her head. She goes silent for a while, just staring up at the ceiling as she contemplates on the question her best friend keeps poking her with.

"Yes," she says after some thought. "I'll say yes… in probably some alternate universe," she adds and she notices Stacie's smile disappear.

"What does that mean?" her best friend asks, looking rather offended for some reason. "Why can't you say 'yes' in _our_ universe? I thought you like her!" she pushes on and Beca turns her head to side so she is facing Stacie.

"Because I know it'll never happen," Beca says simply, her words laced with a tinge of sadness she tried to hide.

"You don't know that," Stacie counters, "You shouldn't be so negative," she continues as Beca lets out a sarcastic chuckle.

"I'm not negative, I'm being realistic, Stace," Beca points out as her best friend lays her head back down the pillow to meet her at eye-level.

"But what if—"

"What if, what? What if she suddenly comes knocking on our door, enters are _super_ cute apartment, looks at me with those irresistible bluer than blue eyes and asks me if she and I could go on a date at the Grammy's and sit beside Beyonce? No, and even if I fight my way in the Pacific ocean of fans just to ask Chloe to go have pizza with me, I don't think she'd take my hand and run with me to pizza paradise, Stace," Beca finishes and suddenly her best friend bursts out in laughter.

"Yeah, now you realize how absurd it sounds?" Beca says as she watches her friend continue to laugh, her eyes watering while she shakes her head and Beca has a feeling that they are aren't in the same wavelength right now.

"Becs," she finally says catching her breath and wiping the tears in the corner of her eyes as Beca continues to look at her in unamused silence. Clearing her throat, her best friend starts to explain, "I doubt she'd take you to the Grammy's. It's honestly boring. Halfway through, Beyonce is amazing but you'd be wishing to be at Taco Bell's instead, or pizza paradise," she says in, strangely, a serious tone.

"What are—is that seriously all you got from what I said?" Beca asks in disbelief as her best friend nods playfully before the silence swallows them again.

"Why do you even believe that I have a chance to be with her?" Beca suddenly asks, her words were barely audible and devoid of any sarcasm. "It's just impossible," she whispers and when she doesn't get an answer, Beca looks over at the girl next to her. There's conflict in those blue-green eyes.

"I mean have you seen her? She's like way up there," Beca motions up in the air with her hand as she says this before bringing her hand back down to her chest. "Have you seen me?" she asks in an incredulous tone. "I'm just—"

"Beca?" Stacie finishes for her as she looks into Beca's eyes and in one of those weird moments, Beca's stomach flips in a way that happens so rarely. She wanted to look away but she couldn't. It was very confusing and wrong.

"Yes, I'm just… Beca," she sighs, her eyes never leaving Stacie's.

"And you're perfect," Stacie finally says and Beca lets out a dry laugh, finally breaking eye-contact. "To me you are" Stacie adds and Beca doesn't say anything because deep words like this make her speechless.

"Besides, Chloe's not that great as everyone makes her to be," Stacie suddenly says softly after a minute of silence. "She has flaws… she's just human too," and this time it's Stacie who averts her gaze. Strangely, Beca could tell that there's sadness with how she says it.

"It's lonely on top," her best friend says in a sombre tone as she looks away. A certain heaviness blankets them both and Beca has had too many of those enough to know how to at least, chase them away even for a moment.

"Hmm not when I'm underneath her," Stacie suddenly turns her head at the comment, mouth hanging open in disbelief as Beca bites her lower lip to stop herself from grinning widely, her body shaking from trying to suppress the laughter bubbling inside her throat. It doesn't take another second and their both bursting out in laughter.

"Wait, are you blushing?" Beca teases as she watches Stacie fan her face with her hand. "Stop acting like a lady. Your mind is way worse than mine when it comes to the great _green_ pastures," Beca points out as her best friend shakes her head, while puffing out air from her cheeks and wiping out more tears from the corner of her eye.

"And before you say anything and take me seriously, I'm sure Chloe is not even in to that kind of thing," Beca immediately lays out and she feels Stacie give her a weird look.

"She's bi," her best friend says in a very certain tone which makes Beca frown.

"Now, where in the internet did you get that? Don't tell me you're reading those delusional fanfiction stuff," Beca asks sceptically, crossing her arms as she looks back at Stacie's serious face.

"She is, Beca," Stacie counters, staring at her hard.

"Yeah, tiny problem, how do you even know that?" Beca questions, daring Stacie to give her a convincing answer. Because Beca was certain that Stacie is wrong. The famous star only had boyfriends or linked to men and if there is truth to what Stacie is telling her, then Beca is definitely sure that the news of Chloe Beale's sexual orientation would've exploded by now, which has not happen by the way.

She sees Stacie hesitate and sigh before facing her again, "Because her first relationship was with a girl," she answers, looking helpless and Beca knows that Stacie is aware that this is not enough.

"Again, how do you even know that?" Beca squints her eyes as she says this and Stacie looked like she wanted to say something but exhales in defeat instead.

"I just… know," she sighs heavily.

"Oh beautiful day! Let us rejoice! I'll go call her and ask her on a date then," Beca replies sarcastically to which Stacie subtly replies, "I'll give you her number," and Beca shakes her head at that but decides to play along instead.

"Sure, can't wait,"

"I think she'd take you somewhere quiet. Her world is too noisy," Stacie mumbles, her slender fingers playing with the loose threads in Beca's blanket.

"Maybe, but that's not a problem. I already know where to take her," Beca says after a while, already picturing a place in her mind. She feels Stacie's gaze back at the side of her face as she quietly asks, "Where?"

"Norway," Beca says without missing a beat and she can almost hear the cogs of Stacie's head turn.

"That's… far?" she says, urging Beca on.

"The prettiest things are always far away," Beca muses sadly.

"And what are you going to do in Norway?" Stacie asks curiously and Beca only realizes that her best friend has shifted closer to her, Stacie's head only inches apart from her cheek.

"I'll take her to see the Northern Lights," a small smile passes by Beca's lips as her gaze remains upwards in the small crack in the ceiling. "We'd lie down in the back of a truck or anywhere soft with two mugs of hot chocolate and just enjoy," Beca could almost see it, maybe if she looked harder she just may find herself there right now, looking up in such wonder. She has imagined it countless times and has told Stacie in almost the same number of times about it too, not that her best friend could remember now. Then somehow, Chloe just entered that picture tonight because, why not?

Dreams are free.

"Then, after that?" Stacie softly asks.

"Then I'd take her back to the cottage or hotel, whatever, and we'd stuff our faces with pizza, well, mainly her because they clearly don't feed her right," Beca nods before suddenly feeling Stacie's hand wrap around hers, the tall brunette's head finding solace in the crook of her neck. For some reason, the action takes her mind back to two years at that empty restroom. Her heart beats in the same rhythm as it did back at that very moment. If she closed her eyes she could almost feel it, almost smell that same scent. And all of it honestly scares her. Whatever these feelings are, they aren't supposed to be there and so Beca opens her eyes, trying to convince herself that maybe it's because she's been talking about the redhead so much tonight. It's actually been the first time she's even talked about her 'crush' for said celebrity and it usually takes a lot for Beca to even admit it. The same definitely cannot be said tonight.

"I think she's going to like that," Stacie says and Beca's chest is filling up yet again of things she is trying to push out. "She's going to like you, a lot," Stacie says sleepily, snuggling even closer towards Beca's side.

"Stace?"

"Becs?"

"You know that there are enough pillows for you to hug, right?" Beca asks as she looks down at her best friend whom she is starting compare to a koala with the way her limbs have now clung around Beca. All of their pillows pushed to the side, lining up the wall. Her head already nestled on Beca's neck and Beca is certain that if Stacie didn't have an elbow injury then her other arm would wind up around Beca's middle.

"I think I heard a noise outside," Stacie answers with a yawn.

"Know what? I'll end this crazy ghost fears of yours and check it out myself for your peace of mind," Beca says determinedly but Stacie's long legs wrapped around her own prevent her from going anywhere.

"No, Becs. It's too dangerous," Stacie whines in a sleepy tone and Beca doesn't really know what to think about this.

"But I don't think—"

"Night, Becs," Stacie hums, her breathing slowly becoming steady, leaving Beca wondering how they even ended up like this. But as the time ticks into the night, it doesn't really feel so bad and Beca finds the warmth comforting. Her eyes grow heavy, her hand unconsciously intertwining into Stacie's, bringing up their hands to rest on her side, her head rolling on top of Stacie's and soon everything just goes silent.

* * *

 **A/N: Sendrick forced me out of my cave. So now I updated earlier than intended. On the other hand, our girls Beca and Chloe have actually met before. They even shared a moment and I'm guessing that if the truth comes out Beca will probably wish that there is some sort of black hole that could suck her in due to extreme embarrassment-much to Chloe's extreme amusement-but let's not talk about Chapter 1000 just yet.**

 **LLVR: Yes. Oh Wonder is a blessing to the ears. I wrote Chapter 6 while listening to it. And I update weekly so if you don't hear anything from me I'm probably dead or worse, somebody destroyed my laptop.**

 **Thanks for reading and following this story guys! Your comments are much appreciated.**


	8. With You

**Chapter 8**

 **With You**

The wind blows on Chloe's face as she closes her eyes and smiles. It felt so good to be travelling with the windows down. As a global superstar, Chloe has always travelled back and forth to different states and countries. However, despite the fact that she takes the plane almost as much as the average person takes the bus, Chloe has never really stopped to enjoy each and every place. And most importantly, she never rolled down the windows even if she wanted to, what with the hundreds of screaming fans and reporters knocking on her car windows. Usually, she'd just get off the plane, perform or shoot a film then get back on the plane. Besides, in between travelling, most of the time she'd be trying to catch up on sleep. So, when Beca borrowed Fat Amy's truck on a lovely Saturday morning to travel to one of their music gigs, Chloe had eagerly asked Beca if she can roll the windows down. The request was met with a confused _'Sure?'_ but Chloe was too happy lowering the transparent glass down and sticking her head out like a child to even bother explaining herself.

"This is so fun!" Chloe smiles, looking around at Beca and Stacie's university while dragging an unamused Beca by the hand as they walked along the path in front of the music department. Behind them, Benji and Jesse who both had also graduated from the same university, took turns talking about fond memories Beca would love to forget- _"Beca, remember that time when you dressed up as Wednesday Addams for Halloween? It's like you didn't change at all!"_

"Walking is not fun," Beca mutters in between laboured breaths as they stop underneath a tree. They would be performing at a nearby bar later tonight and because it was just a couple of blocks from the university, Chloe literally begged Beca for them to take a quick tour inside. Throw in the _'I might remember something'_ card with some puppy dog eyes and Beca finally says yes.

"Walking is nice, Becs. You inhale the fresh air, stretch your legs and enjoy the scent of freedom," Chloe says with her good arm outstretched as she breathes in deeply.

"You get tired, you sweat, your muscles ache, and you get even hungrier," Beca enumerates lazily as she leans her back against the tree they decided to get some shade under. Benji and Jesse had both went off to get some iced-latte for the four of them so now it's just the two of them and Chloe is not complaining.

"Also, you sound like you just got out of jail," Beca adds, making Chloe turn to look back at her.

"What does that mean?" she asks, a frown passing by her face as Beca looks at in amusement.

"That's what people who've been released from prison say when they step back out to the free world," Beca shrugs and it makes Chloe think, looking lost for a moment before a thought dawns on her.

"Do you know someone from jail?" her serious question produces laughter and she was so close to smacking the smaller brunette if she didn't find her cute with that smile playing on her lips. Beca's rare smiles is something she loves to see every day.

"Since we're already on the topic, I think it's only appropriate that I tell you a glimpse of our college life while we're here," Beca says and Chloe could already tell the signs that what she's about to hear is something that would require alcohol, lots of it. If Beca's stories about high school were enough to make her eyes go wide in shock, college will surely give her a heart attack.

Just like this upcoming college story.

"Please don't tell me what I think you are about to tell me, Becs," Chloe begs as she runs a hand through her hair, a habit she has recently acquired from Beca.

"Oh c'mon, it was a good 24 hours behind bars! Dirty, scary, confusing and you almost became someone's prison wife but all in all, a good bed time story for the grandkids," Beca fondly says as Chloe is finding any signs that tell her that Beca is making another one of her sarcastic jokes. But when Beca goes on about the experience being her—Stacie's—fault that's when Chloe's hopes plummet down the ground.

There are a number of things to remember when becoming popular or involving yourself with someone popular like Chloe Beale, one of which is that your past life is something the media will always try to dig up, no matter how deep you've buried it in. Once they've found the bones you hidden in your backyard, there is no stopping chaos from blowing up on your face. Chloe wouldn't really mind having that happen to her. Her life's already splattered and exposed all over the world. She's used to it. But for someone who isn't used to the harshness of being chopped up and served for the whole world to poke and prod, in short, someone like Beca, then things are going to be a bit difficult. Because in her world if Chloe wants to keep people by her side, she'd do everything to protect them in the only way she knows best: keeping them off social media. But then she can't exactly lock Beca up inside her house forever—but it isn't really that bad if you think about it, Beca living in her penthouse that is.

 _Anyways._

So there she was, scrunching up the side of her hair and looking like she's about to punch someone in the face. And before she could even stop to realize that she seriously just thought of including Beca in her future plans, the aspiring DJ is snapping her fingers in front of her face.

"Are you still in there? Have they taken you?" Beca's words bring her back to reality as she looks up at curious dark blues.

"Yeah… I'm still here," she mumbles absentmindedly and that's when Chloe figures that what she has with Beca right now is something she wants to be permanent. It's selfish but she wants to keep Beca by her side.

"You know what? Fuck it!" Chloe blurts out, earning a look of surprise from Beca. "I mean who cares what they say?" she continues, pacing back and forth as Beca gives her a look. "I-I've played by their rules for years! This is my life! And I deserve to live it however I want!" she exclaims, her hands flailing around, totally getting overworked by different kinds of emotions.

"Dude, are you… talking to yourself?" Beca says, looking worried as she stops Chloe from moving by placing her hands on her shoulders. But when she doesn't look at Beca, the smaller female moves her hands to cup her face and make Chloe look at her. The touch instantly sends goose bumps on her skin.

"Hey, are you alright?" Beca's voice is filled with concern and that's enough to pull Chloe back down the ground. This time she is a woman on a mission.

"How do you feel about bright flashing camera lights?" Chloe suddenly asks and she could see the conflict in Beca's eyes.

"Okay, now you're scaring me," Beca replies before talking about moving their doctor's appointment into an earlier date but Chloe cuts her off.

"Are you easily intimidated by people who have high social status?"

"I-I don't think so—not really. Well, they turn me off if they're like full of themselves then I just want to dump shit on their faces and on their shiny cars. I—what are we talking about again?" Beca fumbles around with her words as she searches Chloe's eyes for an explanation.

But at this point, Chloe's thoughts are running full speed, "How about being chased by a horde screaming fans?" she asks and this time Beca's face falls into one that already has an idea where the conversation is going. The smaller female breathes in deep, closing her eyes as she does so before opening them when she exhales. She looks directly at her in a dead serious expression, opens her lips and only one name comes out.

"Chloe,"

And like instinct she lets out a, "Yeah?" along with an expectant look and it took Chloe almost a minute to remember that in this world 'Chloe' isn't her name so she mumbles awkwardly, "I-I mean, what… about her?" she quickly coughs up, hoping to cover the small slip. In her defense, it takes a while to get used to the new identity. Not to mention, in the first few days being 'Stacie', Beca had called her name numerous times only to get silence in return.

Thankfully Beca doesn't think too much of it. "This is about Chloe again, isn't it?" she asks, giving her an accusing look.

"But you also want to make music, right? And if you become popular and eventually meet _Chloe_ again then you know, you have to be uhm… prepared?" Chloe suggests and Beca seems not to buy it for a few tense seconds before she speaks again.

"You are such a weirdo," Beca finally says and Chloe lets out the breath she has been holding. "And stop it, we are not talking about _her_ again," she hisses and Chloe nods reluctantly.

"Becs?" she says in a soft voice after they fall into a moment of silence.

"Wha—" Beca's words end up in a short grunt as Chloe suddenly hugs her.

"You're important to me," Chloe whispers and as Beca's arms slowly come up to embrace her back she closes her eyes, revelling at the moment.

"You only realized my importance now?" Beca jokes as Chloe feels a little lightheaded from the warmth of Beca's arms.

"Just promise me," Chloe starts, hugging Beca tighter with one arm. "We'll be together forever?" she breathes out, her tone searching confirmation from the smaller female. At this moment, Chloe had even no idea what kind of _together_ they'd be in forever. All she knows that, from now on, she wants Beca to be a permanent part of her life. She'd figure out the rest later on. All she wants now is to be with Beca and that's all that matters to Chloe whose world has always been a series of temporaries.

However, she doesn't hear the reply as quickly as she would've wanted. Frowning, she calls out, afraid that Beca might not have heard her, "Becs?" and before she could say anything else, she breathes a sigh of relief as the anticipated answer finally comes.

"Promise. And to be honest, I'm unfortunately stuck with a crazy lady like you for the rest of my life anyway, so, yay to forever!" Beca says in her usual sarcasm. However beneath those words, Chloe gets it. She basically understands the Beca Mitchell secret language by now and she's actually proud she does. So, she smiles, happy to get the privilege of being able to hold Beca whenever she wants.

"Why does Stacie get a hug and we, your bros don't get any of your love?" Jesse's voice comes up from behind them as he and Benji arrive with their lattes.

"Because I'm Beca's favourite," Chloe boasts happily while Beca groans, now trying to squirm away from her hold.

"But I thought you don't play favourites, Beca?" Benji says shaking his head.

"Yeah, and you don't even like hugs," Jesse adds after sipping on his drink and pointing a finger at them.

"Shut it or you idiots are both getting your asses kicked," Beca retorts, turning to them as soon as she escapes from Chloe's hold.

"Okay, at least we have evidence," Jesse says in a matter of fact tone while motioning over to the phone Benji is currently busying himself with. "You rarely have adorable and lovable photos, Beca," Jesse continues, handing out Chloe's iced-latte and dramatically thanking her for the important evidence they have taken.

"Wait, what? When did you even—and who did you send that photo to?!" Beca quickly asks, trying to grab hold of the phone to no avail since Benji has gone ninja all of a sudden with the way he is avoiding her reach.

"The whole building?" the magician says looking up from his crouched position as Jesse doubles over in laughter, his own phone bleeping to indicate that he received a new notification. Even Chloe gets alerted of it as she gushes at the photo uploaded at their group chat while Beca looks at them lividly.

"We look so cute, Becs! I'm totes saving this!" Chloe excitedly says, unable to tear her eyes away from the precious picture of her and Beca wrapped tightly in each other's arms, the green background from the field making the photo even more beautiful.

But then Chloe feels a burning gaze searing her skin as she looks up to see a fuming Beca. "No more hugs for you," she says as Chloe grins playfully.

"Aw c'mon Becs," she croons and Beca shakes her head in rejection.

"Nope, I'm not hugging anyone anymore. That was the last of it," Beca counters as all three of them look at her like children being reprimanded unjustly before simultaneously answering back.

"But hugging is nice!"

* * *

"Hey Jess," Chloe whispers to the drummer before looking around to see if Beca had come back from her phone call a minute ago. After a full lunch in a quaint cafe nearby, which Chloe really enjoyed without having to look behind and spotting cameras clicking away, they were now at the bar rehearsing for their performance tonight.

"Yeah, Stace?" he says back, putting down his drum sticks and appearing confused for a minute as Chloe looks back at him.

"Are you done with that _thing_ I asked you to do?" Chloe asks, looking at him with eagerness as his face lights up in recognition.

"Oh! Right! I have it," he smiles as he reaches in his discarded bag from behind to pull out the USB stick Chloe gave him yesterday.

"So I listened to what you gave me. I got Benji to add some strings to it," he says, motioning over at Benji who grins and holds a thumbs up at her. "And I did the beats like you told me to. It's already like Beca awesome! It's a different kind of amazing with this distinct style it sounds so good!" Jesse exclaims before gushing in awe, "I mean, you're a musical genius!" he says out loud and Chloe had to hush him down for fear of being heard by a certain brunette. Jesse quickly clamps his own mouth and apologizes sheepishly before thinking for a moment.

"But the piano chords… how did you even know how to play? And you just composed it without having an actual piano!" he says as Chloe holds her breath at the implication.

"Uhh, I… studied? Besides, there are piano apps online," she says lamely before waving it off. "Anyways, thank you! I owe you guys, big time," she adds sincerely as Jesse shakes his head to tell her that it's no big deal.

"Are you going to show it to Beca tonight?" Jesse asks and Chloe smiles at the thought.

"I guess so. You think she'd like it?" she asks, looking at Jesse worriedly.

"Of course she will! I mean you did create those beautiful lyrics and you added that awesome melody. She'd approve and I won't even be surprised if she'll put it in our setlist in the future. Do you know what that means?" Jesse asked, his eyes filled with excitement while his hands are up in the air, urging Chloe to answer. Her brows furrow in thought.

"You both can make perfect music together!" Jesse himself answers. "You've been singing some of Beca's songs all these years but never have you like, created something together, like a collaboration! I bet it would totes be a hit!" he says in delight, like he just solved a huge criminal mystery. He did make a very good point though.

"Yeah," Chloe nods, a smile growing in her lips as a thought passes her mind. "We just might make good music together," she mumbles, more to herself than to Jesse.

She was just about to turn around when she hears him speak again, "Who was your inspiration in writing it though? The lyrics are kinda' you know, sexy in a very, very, romantic and sincere kind of way, if you think about it," he comments, looking thoughtful. "I mean I don't want to pry on your personal stuff and I understand if you don't want to say anything. I was just curious that's all," he quickly adds.

Chloe looks down at the USB for a moment before looking up at him, "Just a special girl I met two years ago whom I regret letting her slip out of my fingers without even asking her name," she says with a tone of regret before sliding the USB in her pocket and leaving an even more confused Jesse wondering what she meant.

"Alright, guys. Let's get to work!" Beca's voice gets all of their attention as she walks back from her phone call. She heads over to Chloe's direction before quickly pulling her aside when the two boys warm up and tune their instruments.

"What's wrong?" Chloe asks, concerned at the trouble look on Beca's face.

"Your uncle and aunt wants to talk to you," Beca finally says after a while and Chloe doesn't exactly know what to feel about this. Never has it occurred to her that she had to deal with Stacie's relatives since Beca did say that her family was in Atlanta.

"Okay?" she says, not really seeing any huge problem in it. She just has to lay the I-have-amnesia card in front of them and be polite. But then Beca doesn't seem to be _okay_ with it and Chloe has a feeling that she's about to be as troubled as Beca is.

"Uhm actually the thing is, they don't know you have amnesia since I told them… that you were perfectly fine," Beca admits, grimacing at her words and looking back at Chloe guiltily. And Chloe has to admit, that didn't sink well for her because that just means that she has to pretend to be exactly like Stacie. Problem was, how does one even try to lie in front of family and get away with it? So now Chloe is troubled, probably even more than Beca. All she got from Stacie Conrad are stories. How do you even copy someone's personality, and worse, someone you haven't even met yet?

"Why'd you say that? This is bad," Chloe mutters, her voice shaking in panic at the thought. "This is so bad," she repeats and Beca looks at her helplessly.

"I'm sorry, I panicked. I just didn't want them to worry and I want to be positive about this," Beca reasons and Chloe sighs. It was nobody's fault after all. The accident happened and then somehow she got trapped inside Stacie Conrad's body so, there was no one to blame.

"When is this 'talk' going to happen?" she finally asks and Beca's hand wraps around her wrist to lend a bit of comfort.

"Look, it's a phone conversation so it's easier since you won't have to see each other face to face. I'll just tell you what to say or at least, what I think you'd say," Beca shakes her head dismissively. "Just don't worry about it too much, I told them we will call soon so probably anytime this week. Which means we have a lot of time to… re-learn stuff?" Beca suggests and Chloe massages her temples. The situation is turning into a massive headache but what choice do they have?

"Also, are you sure you good to sing tonight?" Beca asks tentatively and Chloe nods, a small smile forming in her lips. "Of course," she assures Beca.

After having brought up having to sing in the band, Beca has left Chloe with some demos of their cover songs, ironically, some songs coming from singers Chloe has either collaborated or is friends with. So, she knew most of them. She just needs to practice with the whole band.

Beca will be singing half of the songs as well and that is something Chloe is actually looking forward to above anything else. If Beca's voice sounded heavenly on record then what more having to hear it live. She's actually had to hold back from asking the brunette to sing for her and just wait for the moment she does because knowing Beca, she'd just give the same excuse of being more of the producer rather than the singer.

Getting up on stage, Chloe could feel her heart jump happily as she steps in front of the microphone. She missed the feeling of performing and singing has always been her first love. Holding the familiar metal in her fingertips reminds her of the first live performance she did. She featured in a popular artist's song that time and was so nervous backstage that she almost backed out. But as soon as she stepped out and belted out her part, everything she feared faded away as she lost herself to the music.

"Stace, you ready?" she hears Beca ask. Chloe looks to her left where the brunette stood, an electric guitar hanging from her shoulders. Only the thought of being on stage with Beca felt so right, it's like she found the puzzle piece that has been missing all along and honestly it's got her so excited to finally be in that moment.

"Yeah," she answers with a smile before turning towards the microphone and singing out the first line, Beca's guitar glides along with her voice and Chloe closes her eyes. Benji's piano accompanies them as well building up in the first verse until Jesse finally hits the drums. It was still strange hearing Stacie's voice instead of hers but she did her best to make it her own. The adrenaline rush was exhilarating as Chloe sings all of her feelings out, her vocals soaring up and down effortlessly with every beat. She even played with the notes a bit along the climax, giving it a personal touch and going a few bars higher into the perfect ending.

Chloe smiles, despite the awkward start, she was still satisfied with the outcome. She hears Jesse's appreciative howl and Benji's clapping which means that she could definitely make it work. But when Chloe looks towards Beca, hoping to get approval, she finds Stacie's best friend already looking intently at her. She could tell that there was amazement in those eyes but Chloe also knew that there was something else in them, something only a fan can decipher. Chloe Beale's music style. That was the part Chloe had not predicted. She just can't help it when she sings and clearly she forgot about the part where Beca has actually watched a lot of her performances.

But before Chloe could say anything, Beca looks back at Jesse then at Benji and calls for the second song, a duet. Jesse taps his drum sticks together and by the signal both Chloe and Beca sing beginning of the song. Chloe takes the higher pitch of the song while Beca blends in with a lower pitch. When it comes to Beca's solo part, Chloe listens in wonder. Other than a beautiful voice, Beca has a charisma on stage that just pulls you to her and Chloe would just love to watch her perform for hours. Beca sings the last note on her solo and that's when Chloe directs her focus back on to the song, their voices blending again for the chorus before she does her own solo part. Finally, they almost reach the end, their voices melding perfectly as they take turns singing the lines. By the end of the beat, Chloe has no doubt whatsoever just how many beautiful—babies—melodies she can create with Beca.

In short, the night was a success. They sung all of the songs in their set list perfectly. It was fun and the audience reacted positively. In between songs, Chloe would just glance at Beca and she'd instantly know what to do. Fortunately, Beca doesn't seem to question anything regarding the things Chloe has feared earlier. Besides, the idea was just so absurd that Chloe couldn't believe she almost freaked out at the fact that her secret might be exposed. There was just no way Beca could even guess the truth.

However, if there was one thing she got out of this is, for the first time ever since she has found herself trapped in someone else's body, Chloe is getting really frustrated with everything, she wanted to do so many things—with and to Beca—but couldn't.

When did it exactly start?

Her frustrations started exactly when Beca sung one of her solo songs, an acoustic cover of The Police's 'Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic'. She and Jesse had to sit this one out as Benji started playing the piano. And just when she thought she couldn't like the dark eyed brunette more, she finds herself unknowingly tumbling downhill into _heartsville_. Chloe hadn't heard Beca sing the song during their rehearsals so when Beca sings the somewhat slower version of the song with much emotion Chloe couldn't help but feel her heartstrings being pulled and tugged at with every word being sung. The atmosphere changes into a gentler yet melancholic mood as everyone listens in silence to the sweet sentimental serenade.

So yes, Chloe concludes just how frustrating her situation was. And there was Beca Mitchell fuelling all those frustrations every time she looks her way with that smirk and those dark blue orbs. So, before Chloe would explode from an overwhelming mix of emotions she goes finds solace in the restroom.

But then that doesn't last long.

"Hey," Beca's sudden appearance makes Chloe jump a bit eliciting a light chuckle from the smaller female. She'd been too pre-occupied in her own thoughts to even realize that she's actually been watching the water from the tap flow down on her fingers for quite a while now.

"I know I look pale but I'm not a ghost," Beca quips as she enters one of the stalls while Chloe finally turns off the tap before pulling out some tissue paper to dry her hands.

"You need more sun," she replies and after a minute hears the toilet being flushed and the door of the stall open after a couple of moments.

"Please, I am a creature of the dark," Beca says as she stands next to Chloe, washing her hands in the sink. "The sun will kill me," she adds and instead of throwing back some health benefits one gets from the sun, Chloe finds the scene in front of her to be familiar.

As it so happens, this very scene reminds her of how she and Beca first met.

The memory from 2 years ago, triggers another wave of emotions and this time it has her downhearted. Sighing, she looks down towards her wrist remembering the bandana Beca gave her, the one still neatly placed in a special corner of her walk-in closet. It is in that moment when she feels Beca reaching behind her for the tissue paper. Chloe's heart skips a beat at the feeling of Beca's body pressing lightly against hers. Her stomach flips, a familiar occurrence whenever she is nervous, excited or in lo—

"Becs?" She suddenly says before turning around towards Stacie's best friend. "I actually have something to give you," Chloe starts as she slips her hand inside her jeans pocket for the USB.

But then before her hands close in on the small object, Chloe's world suddenly spins as she buckles over, Beca's arms catching her before she falls.

"Stacie!" Beca's frantic calls were becoming distant as Chloe tries to make sense of what's happening, her hand now gripping onto Beca's jacket. She felt like she was being forced out of the ground and swept in some crazy rollercoaster ride before everything went black.

Chloe feels like she's drifting into nothingness until a small voice echoes in the darkness, getting louder every minute until Chloe hears it clearly. She recognizes it as her mother's and soon she sees a small crack of light in the distance.

" _Chlo, can you hear me?"_

* * *

 **A/N: This time a movie called Table 19 woke up my sleeping motivation. Yeah I'm one of the losers who finally watches it months after it's been released.**

 **So where were we? Oh right, another cliffhanger. I so hate cliffhangers. Now I know I'm just pissing you guys off which is why I plan to give out a spoiler to appease you all. Spoiler: There will be more cliffhangers in the next 50 chapters.**

 **Okay, moving on, now I noticed that some of you have commented and messaged me regarding the real Stacie and to be honest, that kinda made me re-think about the direction of this "delusional fanfiction stuff". So now I'm caught in between continuing the original path of the story or do I sway the other way and choose among the 257 other scenarios in my head right now. Answer: God, I need more Anna Kendrick motivation and beer.**

 **Thanks to all the love I've been receiving, those who favorited, followed and commented/reviewed/messaged me. They all mean a lot.**


	9. Shot At The Night

**Chapter 9**

 **Shot At The Night**

The cameras goes off as soon as Aubrey Posen steps on the red carpet. She stops at one spot where she poses at the shouting photographers. It's annoying and scary at first but after years of experience it's bearable. Tonight was the premiere for the movie she co-produced so it was an important to her that the movie is well-received. After a couple of interview, some light chatting with the actors and the director she makes her way to her seat. No sooner has she settled in does she feel her phone vibrate in her purse.

It's from her best friend, Chloe Beale.

Apparently, her friend has just wrapped up a scene from her upcoming film and will be heading to a club downtown for a performance. The message also had hints of 'please save me' in it that Aubrey had to stand up again and excuse herself with only minutes until the movie starts. Making her way to a separate lounge room, she presses the call button and waits.

"Bree," Chloe drags out her name in what seems like a child pathetically begging her mother to go play outside.

"Please tell me that you didn't get into a scandal and ran off with some hottie to Italy," Aubrey starts and sighs in relief as she hears Chloe giggle.

"Nope, I'm scandal free, no hottie either but I'd very much love to go to Italy right now and I'm _this_ close to booking a ticket and running away—Help! I'm super tempted," Chloe whines and based on the noise in the background, Aubrey figures that she's probably at her trailer getting ready. "And since you are good at making decisions, do you think I should, a) book now and fly away, b) not go and cry, or c) have my awesome, beautiful and talented actress-director-producer best friend come to my rescue and fly away with me!

Aubrey rolls her eyes at the options, knowing fully well what her friend was up to.

"Letter D," she answers promptly.

"What option is that?"

"D as in 'Don't go until I'm done packing' which would take a while since I am at a movie premiere tonight, the one that I've been telling you for months, and I'm busy for the whole week since I will also take part in promoting this movie as well," Aubrey states in a precise manner which earns a groan from the other end of the line.

"Well, person who is part of the production team, can you at least make it to the club tonight so we can catch up? We haven't hung out in a while," Chloe lays out, her tone hopeful and despite the hectic schedule, Aubrey also does have a lot of stuff to tell her. But the movie is going to run for about 2 hours and a half. Not to mention the after party happening later at another club.

"I'm not sure Chlo but I'll try to make it there if I still have time," Aubrey says uncertainly as she checks her watch which anyone would already consider as jewelry with the amount of diamonds in it.

"Okay, just send me a message if you are good to go or not. I'll be performing last so I'll be finished just before midnight," the redhead says and Aubrey could tell by the sound of her voice that her energy was depleting. If the movie world has Aubrey already drained and on the verge of collapse, she surely can't imagine what it is like to leap in between both the movie and music industry. And by what she has observed she prefers the movie industry more. The music industry seems so wild to her and that is why Chloe has her utmost respect when it comes to work ethic.

They both hang up and Aubrey sincerely hopes she can make it. She'd very much want to have a break from all the movie conversations. Don't get her wrong, it's interesting at first with this being her passion but if you're working on a movie which spans to about a year until it is finalized and shown to the world, a hundred interviews later, she's just close to being done with it. Maybe it was that motivation that got Aubrey to hurry and finish things quickly. She didn't spend too much time at the after party and despite the downpour, went off immediately to the club where Chloe will be performing at. Adding a black leather jacket over her soft pink Blumarine mini dress, she's ready to hit the club.

The speakers were already dropping beats and the crowd has already gone crazy with the performances tonight. The music was assaulting Aubrey's ears and without alcohol in her system it's going to be bothering her all night. Despite having been to almost every A-list club in LA, Aubrey isn't actually into the kind of music her best friend is creating. She's more classical and acoustic. Chloe knows this and appreciates Aubrey's continuous support despite that fact.

Hence the reason why she is ordering a drink at the main bar. Even though there was another bar in the VIP section upstairs, she decides that it just can't wait. Her manager, Trish, tells her that Chloe has just finished performing and is already up at the second floor being held up by some of their celebrity friends. Her drink is served in front of her and as she takes a sip, her eyes connect on another pair of seductive orbs from the other end of the bar.

Tall, a little taller than her, straight light brown hair and a smirk that promises trouble. Being caught off guard, she looks away almost instantly, flustered at the possibility of being ogled at in such a suggestive way, especially coming from another female. She rarely gets flustered but when she hears a sultry voice ordering a drink she looks up to get a closer version of that smirk a few moments ago and is again caught off guard. The woman is beautiful, she's got appeal and confidence, lots of it, that, Aubrey would admit. She wouldn't even be surprised if she turned out to be a model or an aspiring actress. She has the kind of face that belongs on screen but if this woman thinks she's coming home with her tonight, that's where she's mistaken.

Aubrey currently has a boyfriend.

And she's _only_ had boyfriends.

Fortunately, before she could tell her that, another female leans her body against the bar, separating them both with her back towards Aubrey. She was smaller than the other female with dark brown hair and despite the loud music she hears her say, "We're going home," towards her friend.

The taller female quickly protests but it falls on deaf ears as her drink is forcibly taken away from her before being pulled by the arm away from Aubrey.

"Nope, no more drinking, bitch. We have work tomorrow," the smaller one firmly says as she continues dragging her friend to her feet.

"But Beca the night is young! And so are we! Also, might I remind you, your crush is still in the club," the taller female insists but reluctantly gives in with the deadly glare her companion is showing. Nevertheless, none of that could stop her from looking back towards Aubrey, smiling and giving her a wink.

"See you later, gorgeous," she throws at Aubrey with that flattering smile, her eyes never leaving her until she is dragged further into the crowd.

Shaking her head, Aubrey finally picks up her drink and makes her way upstairs, all the while muttering, "This night is unbelievable,"

It doesn't take long until she spots her best friend who then comes running towards her. The impact is strong as Chloe hugs her and it almost knocks the air out of Aubrey's lungs but she's used to it by now. You can't be close friends with Chloe Beale without having been bear-hugged.

"You made it!" Chloe sighs in relief before holding up a dark red paper bag, classily embellished with a gold ribbon, in front of her face. Looking back at the smiling redhead in surprise, she takes the paper bag.

"Congratulations on your movie," Chloe says, looking proud as Aubrey shakes her head in disbelief.

"Thanks, Chlo. You really didn't have to," Aubrey smiles back before reaching out to her assistant who gives her a smaller pink and black paper bag. She then dangles it on her fingers in front of her friend who gasps in surprise.

"I guess great minds do think alike," Aubrey starts as Chloe takes the bag from her with a laugh. "This is actually a congratulatory gift for wrapping up your movie—which I know is next week but I am giving it now 'cause I'll be at New York then for promotions," she explains before looking at her best friend apologetically. Like what she had predicted, those bright blue eyes look at her in disappointment, shoulders slightly sagging down at the news.

"And I can't give it to you tomorrow either because I can't stay for long. I have to be up early," she continues, holding on to Chloe's arm to help convey her regret. "I'm really just here to give this to you," she says, looking back down at the paper bag which is now hanging around Chloe's arm before adding,

"Also, it seems I'm rocking a chick-magnet vibe tonight and one flirty wink is enough. I'm out," she states in a serious tone.

"Oh it's alright. I completely understand. I'm also filming a couple of stunts tomorrow actually—but oh my god! A woman hit on you? Tell me more! Is she pretty?" the redhead immediately asks, evading a topic that Aubrey is actually not going to let pass. If it has something to do with safety then expect Aubrey's caution lights flashing up, safety on set—or anywhere else—is something which Aubrey herself is particularly concerned about.

"Stunts? Haven't you gotten a body double for that?" she asks, this time being the one evading a topic, but when she sees the guilty look on her friend's face, Aubrey's eyes widen, tall, sexy, flirty brunette now successfully forgotten.

"Oh well… I might not need one," Chloe slowly confesses and Aubrey is already giving her a reprimanding look.

"You know just how dangerous those stunts are, Chlo. I'd know, George is a good friend of mine too and I know what kind of movie this is," Aubrey says without missing a beat. She's worked with George before and the famous movie director is renowned for his high quality action movies. It doesn't even help that he had indeed spilled tiny bits of it with Aubrey the last time they met and that he had in fact been planning to upstage his last one by having more complex stunts to match a well-written script for his upcoming film, the one where her redheaded best friend had been chosen to play lead.

"And I had nothing to do with that since she agreed without my approval! Believe me, I tried but this stubborn child wants to slam herself through a window for _fun_ ," Alex, Chloe's manager, comments with sarcasm from behind her as he holds out Chloe's coat for her to slip into.

"Alex!" Chloe protests, eyeing her manager before she puts in her one arm after another inside the coat's long sleeves before sighing dejectedly.

"What? Chloe! That's insane! You could instantly break your ribs, or any of your bones for that matter, doing those dangerous stunts. Having you in danger is not worth doing just for an Oscar or a trip to Cannes," Aubrey says out loud while the redhead nods several times in acknowledgement.

"I know. I know. And I don't care about awards, Bree. It's something I want to do for the sake of art and I have already decided to do it," Chloe insists with her infamous pout as they head down the stairs and start to make their way out of the club's VIP back door.

"But you have to think about your health! What if something happens to you? You could end up in the hospital for a very long time or lose permanent mobility," Aubrey interjects, laying out a couple of reasonable situations that could hopefully deter her friend from trying to take her 'art' into another new level.

But as they stop by the door to wait for their cars and look out at the heavy pouring of rain, Aubrey knows she couldn't sway Chloe otherwise. Those bright blue eyes are determined to finish what it has started and Aubrey has seen this look before. Whenever Chloe gets told that something cannot be done, she knows her friend has that mind-set that sees impossibility as a challenge rather than a sign to stop and therefore, will stop at nothing to achieve that goal.

"Bree, I know you are concerned for my well-being and I appreciate it, I really do," Chloe sincerely says as she faces her fully. "But I don't want to live a life full of regrets or what ifs. I want to live," she tells her in a way that makes Aubrey breathe in deep. She gets what her friend is saying and it just shows their differences. Aubrey rather stays in the safe, highly planned zone with only one thing in her mind, her goal of reaching the top. She doesn't dream of a life different from how she lived it, calculated and precise to what she has envisioned. She hates complicated and thus, the reason why her life is a series of step-by-step measurements to protect herself from the unpredictability, especially from the pain. If it doesn't benefit her in any way then it must go. But Chloe believed differently, her friend loved being unpredictable and trying things out of her element. Aubrey thinks she is brave to go for something like that but she also thinks it's stupid because if she were to compute the damage versus the success of such stunt, she can clearly see that the damage would earn a higher percent chance of happening.

However, she also knows that whatever she says, Chloe wouldn't even flinch for even a bit so she decides that giving her support, albeit reluctantly, for the sake of her friend's happiness would be best. That's friendship for you and yes, Aubrey knows how that works.

"Fine," she breathes out hesitantly and the words haven't fully escaped her lips when Chloe beams before hugging her tightly. "But! There's a 'but' here!" Aubrey immediately warns and that abruptly ends the hug, although the smile never leaves Chloe's lips.

"But?"

"But please promise me, that you'd be extra careful. Check every harness and safety equipment at least five times. Have them make sure it works by having someone do it first. Also, I want an ambulance on stand-by," she says, specifically looking at Alex regarding the last one. "If you feel even the slightest bit of pain, tell them immediately," she adds, now glancing back at Chloe who nods with delight.

"And Chlo?" she places a hand over her friend's arm, squeezing it a bit.

"Do it perfectly in one take like you always do," Aubrey finally smiles lightly and receives another hug from Chloe. They exchange a few opinions on co-stars and roll their eyes at stuff that they had to lie about in front of the camera before finally being notified that Aubrey's car has already pulled up front. Her assistant holds an umbrella out for her as Aubrey glances at Chloe for the last time.

"So, Italy in two weeks?" the redhead slyly inquires and Aubrey could only shake her head and smile.

"Hmm I guess I'd be done packing by then," she finally says, her words filled with promise as she looks at Chloe knowingly.

"See you in two weeks, Babree!" Chloe calls out the nickname she made up for her as Aubrey gives her a light wave before charging out against the rain and flashing camera lights.

Before her car door slams shut she gives her friend one last look not knowing that their next meeting would come earlier than they had planned, their supposed plans shattered down the ground.

It was worse than all the things Aubrey had warned her against personally doing her own stunts.

Instead of two weeks, Aubrey was to see her friend again after two hours being wheeled in to the emergency room for surgery. Chloe's pale beautiful face was now covered in cuts and bruises. Her red hair was spilling on the hospital's white sheets where she lay unconscious. But what made Aubrey's chest hurt was when she finds out just how many bones her friend broke. Among the minor injuries, Chloe suffered a bad injury to her knee, a broken shoulder and a very worrying head injury. Aubrey's mind had been blank at the sudden turn of events. Nothing could have prepared her for this moment as she hears Victoria Beale's painful cries while she and a teary-eyed John Beale tries to lift her up from the floor. Aubrey knew Chloe's father was on the verge of breaking apart but decided to put up a strong front for the sake of his wife and daughter. Chloe was so close to her father and Aubrey couldn't even begin to imagine what it must be like for him to watch his _little girl_ fighting for her life.

It was a night she wouldn't forget, it was extremely horrifying as Chloe's life hangs precariously in the hands of the best surgeons in the country. None of them had slept that night. Her friend had actually flat-lined for almost a minute and if they hadn't successfully revived her, Aubrey wouldn't even want to think about it.

As she sits next to Chloe's overwrought parents, she stares emptily at the gift bag Chloe gave her sitting on her lap. Slowly and with trembling fingers, she opens it to reveal a card on top of what happens to be three classy bottles of calming essential oils and another bottle of scented oil for her room. Reading the words written by Chloe herself, tears suddenly begin to form in her eyes for the first time since she heard of the accident.

 _Bree,_

 _Congratulations on the new movie!_

 _I know you secretly stress and worry too much about a lot of things but since I can't always give you one of my powerful happiness-inducing hugs, I thought you'd relax with the help of these oils._

 _Love,_

 _Chloe_

 _PS: I had them ordered straight from Italy. I believe once you smell the scent of Naples it'll definitely change your mind and finally come fly with me! Love you!_

* * *

Aubrey always knew where her life is heading and that's up. Looking back, the overwhelming struggle to reach success has her so guarded. All her achievements and success are a product of all her years of hard work—and hours in the bathroom due to stress—which she'd do everything to secure. That is why she'll never settle for less and mediocre. However, success comes with a price and for Aubrey's perfect and pristine image it's hard to find a man that could handle the pressure of being in a relationship with such a powerful woman. For some reason, most men hated not having the upper hand especially if you are dating men who owned companies and achieved just as much as Aubrey has. Just like Matthew Pierce, son of the CEO of a well-known automobile company, whom she is mostly likely, breaking up with soon.

And like always, it's going to be ugly.

After dating for about seven months, their blazing passion has finally fizzled down and that's when Aubrey realizes that they are just too alike, too stubborn and too proud, which means they have built a ticking bomb waiting to explode. And that bomb just went off today. Unfortunately, neither of them wanted to back down and now they are close to tearing each other apart. It's really messy.

Messy means noise and Aubrey hated noise so she heads to the one place she can shut all that out.

The hospital.

It's early in the evening when she walks in the hospital suite where her close friend lay in a coma. After 3 major surgeries, Chloe's vital signs have stabilized. They almost had a scare a couple of days ago when complications suddenly happened that they almost thought they would lose her. Thankfully, they were out of the woods for now. They had the best doctors in the country and keeping Chloe alive is their number one priority. Sighing, she tiredly sits on the cushioned seat next to the bed eyeing the machines and equipment plugged in on the younger female whom she misses badly.

She met Chloe at an after party for a fashion event 5 years ago. Chloe has already made a name for herself in the industry while Aubrey who already was an established actress that time has just started delving into directing and producing. She had just attended a short course on filming and wasn't really in the mood to attend a party. She only went because she had to. The main fashion designer for the event was one of her regular sponsors so it is her duty to make an appearance and flaunt his dress to the media. It's probably because they were both forced into going—Chloe having just finished filming for her first movie, wants nothing but to go sleep—that made them instant friends. They both shared the same sentiments regarding movies, music and men that it wasn't long until they hung out more often. Aubrey was one of the very few people who knew Chloe was bi-sexual and that changed nothing in their friendship. If anything, it actually got her more curious about what it would be like to be with a woman. But that's just that, curiosity and nothing more. Despite Chloe's interesting explanations she still prefers men.

Speaking of men,

"He's a jerk. You were right," she mutters while fiddling at the bed sheets. Chloe had gently pointed out that her relationship with Matt was somehow going a little too fast and by gently, meaning she's thrown all those not really subtle hints of what it really means to be in a healthy relationship, which to her, Aubrey wasn't in.

"Maybe we should have gone on that vacation you were nagging me about," her tone drops with regret and sadness. They would have been there by now if none of this nightmare had happened. Looking at Chloe's unconscious form, it's like she was just sleeping for the night and would soon wake up at 3 in the morning to get prepped. She'd be all cheery as always despite being up so early for her morning jog and her fruit juice, calling her to tell her about the newly launched summer collection that they would be wearing to that vacation they've been planning in Capri. It almost brings tears to Aubrey's eyes but she's cried too much this past week. The only thing that kept her together was the thought that Chloe wouldn't want her weeping over her like she was going to leave and never come back.

Unfortunately, this time the bubbly female is silent and Aubrey leans back in resignation, closing her eyes for a moment with only the noise of the beeping machine heard in the background. She's been spending so much time in the hospital these days, finding comfort in her friend's presence. Chloe has always had that effect on people. She'd make anyone feel comfortable around her in a second. The only problem with her friend however was how easily she trusts people and that's where Aubrey comes in, to rain fire on those who abuse that trust. But then knowing Chloe, she'd soon believe that there is still good in this world and keeps on giving a hundred percent of herself to people who clearly don't deserve it.

Her ringing phone suddenly cuts through the silence as Aubrey lazily checks the caller only to exhale loudly at the name.

Her boyfriend, Matt.

"I don't want to talk to him but I guess I need to get this over with," she says, already envisioning what her redheaded friend would tell her.

" _You deserve better, Bree,"_

Going with her gut, she takes the call. She puts on a brave front, the one she uses whenever she wants people to know that she's in-charge. Aubrey hates being weak, she hates people pitying her and she hates losing. Someone once told her that loving someone means surrender and Aubrey frowned upon that thought. Maybe that was the problem. She wasn't willing to give in and have someone else take control. She'll probably never will. So, after a few more arguments, she finally breaks up with Matt which ends with a phone harshly slammed down the table.

Heaving from the onslaught of mixed emotions, she slumps back down to the cushioned seat, rubbing her aching temples.

"Maybe I should just date women," she blurts out, chuckling to herself as she imagines the look Chloe would have given her if she were awake. Somehow, she finds herself talking to her friend every time she drops by, which is almost every other day. She has actually been constantly talking to Chloe about her day, bad or good, and spilling some of her thoughts about things as if she were awake.

Which might finally happen.

A sudden twitch of a finger catches Aubrey's eyes. The movement causes Aubrey to instantly sit straight up, her eyes wide as she looks at her friend. For a second, she almost believes that her mind must have been playing tricks on her since Chloe remained motionless.

"Chlo? Can you hear me?" she asks several times before frowning and shaking her head. She was probably imagining things after all.

"How crazy would it be if you suddenly woke up just because I decided to go for women," she mumbles, smiling to herself. But then the smile disappears as fast as it appeared. This time she sees it clearly, Chloe's palm which was facing up clenches with her fingers moving ever so lightly and quickly for a second. The situation almost makes Aubrey fall of her seat as she grabs for the emergency button to call for the doctors.

There was rapid movement in Chloe's closed eyes while her lips slightly quivered. By now, her chest starts to shake and Aubrey frantically calls out to her. Her friend's forehead forms a crease and by now the doctors and nurses rush in to check up on Chloe. There was a flurry of white but Aubrey doesn't take her eyes off her friend, concern and worry written all over her face.

But what makes her heart almost stop was the soft moan coming from Chloe's lips. Hope starts to spread all throughout Aubrey's body as she leans closer, her ear next to her friend's lips.

"Chlo? Chloe, it's me, Aubrey. Please open your eyes and say something," she begs and before one of the nurses gently pull her aside, her face fills with confusion at what she hears from Chloe.

For once in her life, Aubrey Posen looks genuinely confused and lost as she stands at a corner watching helplessly as doctors continue to examine her friend. But after a couple of minutes Chloe's body remains still without any further changes or movements. She couldn't even register the possible explanations she has been given, only that Chloe was still under tight observation.

In minutes, Chloe's parents arrive and had heard of the situation a couple of minutes ago. Victoria Beale has gone back to crying, caressing her daughter's head carefully while John continues to talk to the doctors. In between all that, Aubrey remains motionless on her seat, staring down at the ground, deep in thought.

Chloe had said a word. Just one word. But even if she told them, it wouldn't even make sense. As she looks up back at her best friend, she decides that it's best to keep it to herself for now. Surely, she'd have a hard time falling asleep since that one word will be the only thing she'd be thinking of. Weirdly, it wasn't an object or a place. It was a name. A name she is unfamiliar with.

"Who the hell is Stacie?"

* * *

 **A/N: This is actually special chapter. It wasn't really meant to be in the the original story but I realized that I need to show some perspective on what's going on the 'other side' with Aubrey, Chloe's body, Stacie in Chloe's body and Chloe's family. It's not also exactly a continuation to Chapter 8 (With You) so I hope nobody gets confused.**

 **Also, I actually wrote this special chapter a week ago to just try & see if it would make it in the story or not but now I want to dedicate it to those loved ones who had lost someone due to this terrible bombing incident in Manchester. I cannot the imagine the pain that they are going through right now and I know that there no words that can ease the sadness. Instead, I'd like to send my thoughts and prayers to those affected and all their families.**

 **In other news, I have a job interview tomorrow and I'm nervous. I might get a little distracted so it might take a while to write the ending of this story. And no, do not panic the next chapter isn't the last one, I repeat, the next chapter is NOT the last one. Again, do not panic, I should be the only one who has the right to panic! God, I'm so nervous for that damn interview.**

 **Thank you to all those who followed and favorited this story. And to those who the wrote in their comments/reviews, please keep em coming! So I would stop panicking and going mental.**


	10. Playing To Lose

**Chapter 10**

 **Playing To Lose**

 **2 years ago**

"Chloe! There you are," Alex's shouts in relief as soon as Chloe steps out in the restroom but her focus wasn't entirely there as she looks around at the hallway filled with staff hurriedly running around to get work done.

"You almost gave everyone a heart attack. You'll be up in about an hour so please stop disappearing—" Alex doesn't get to finish his sentence as Chloe moves to walk past him, hand gripping a pink and silver bandana while her eyes kept searching.

"Chloe! What the hell?" Alex questions from behind, her manager trying to keep up to her hurried strides only to almost bump into her when she abruptly comes to a halt. It was only when she was a few steps away from walking out the backstage and into the crowd that her manager has gotten hold of her. His grip however, doesn't stop Chloe from peeking out of the door.

"Did you see the girl who walked out of the restroom before I did?" she finally asks, ignoring the curious looks some of the staff were throwing her way while Alex pauses, seemingly trying to recall if he did.

"She's about my height, uh, pink and glittery—no, silver! Yes, right, she had this tight mini-dress like those girls on… Formula One!" Chloe says anxiously like she's finally got the answer to one of those chemistry problems in high school as Alex's frown deepens.

"She was wearing a cap—wait, I think it's a visor. Anyways, she had a pink sparkling star painted on her eye!" Chloe says, pausing to remember if it was on the left or the right. Figuring that she doesn't have the specific details, Chloe just decides to continue. "The point is, I really, really need to see her," Chloe pleads, looking at Alex sucks in a deep breath finally nods.

"Alright, how about you go back to the waiting room and I have some people find this… this mysterious pink Formula One girl with stars in her eyes—"

"No, just one! One star in the uhm left side?" Chloe quickly corrects him in frustration as Alex nods again, raising up his hands in apology.

"Okay, one star, got it," he repeats before taking both her hands and this time he is the one pleading. "I'll find her, wrap her up in Christmas paper and send her to you," Alex assures her and before Chloe could say anything else she is ushered back to her room where surprisingly, Aubrey is waiting.

"Chlo! Where've you been? God, the traffic was just killing me," Aubrey says as she places down her designer bag and a to-go cup of Chloe's favourite frappe on the table, her trusty iPad in one hand.

"I don't know. Getting dumped in the restroom, maybe?" Chloe suggests tiredly before dropping down at the make-up chair where her hair and make-up team quickly get to work. She could see Aubrey look up from her iPad, her face falling into shock.

"What?! Sean?" Aubrey asks, giving her a look of concern and Chloe instinctively grips the pink bandana tighter.

"I don't want to talk about it," she says softly with a sigh, forcing down another batch of tears that are threatening to fall.

"Stop," Aubrey suddenly orders as she walks in front of Chloe, waving her hand dismissively at the stylists. "Give us a minute, please," she says as Chloe's team hurriedly leaves them.

"Hey," Aubrey's tone softens as Chloe looks at anywhere but her friend. "Chlo, do you want to cancel?" Aubrey slowly asks, putting a comforting hand over her arm.

Chloe's fingers fidget around, tapping on the arm of the chair and scratching on her forehead as she weighs in on the question, her vision getting blurry as she blinks numerous times. She feels Aubrey crouch down to her level before wrapping her arms around her. The minute Chloe gets engulfed in the embrace only then does her tears start to fall, sobbing as she holds on to her friend tightly.

"You don't have to perform tonight, sweetie. It's okay," Aubrey calmly says, rubbing her back soothingly as Chloe closes her eyes tightly, silently crying on to her shoulder.

"Let's get you home," Aubrey finally says as they break from each other's arms but Chloe quickly looks up, shaking her head.

"No, I'll sing tonight. The fans are waiting outside," she says determinedly and Aubrey was quick to convince her otherwise.

"In your condition? No. Chlo, your fans will have to keep waiting," Aubrey firmly says but Chloe immediately counters.

"I want to sing for them. They want to hear my voice," Chloe says as she lifts up the bandana she's been wiping her tears with all this time in front of Aubrey. "Tie this for me, please?" her friend looks at her then at the piece of cloth hanging on her wrist before giving in and tying it around her wrist.

"Is this from the radio station?" Aubrey asks, looking at the cloth like she does critically on any dish served on her table. The verdict would most probably be a big fat 'No' as the pink-silver colour combination clashed with her dark blue jacket, white top and black high-waisted shorts but none of that mattered. After all being fashionable is being a rebel to the norm.

"No, it's from a friend," Chloe answers and lightly smiles as Aubrey finally ties the piece of cloth around her wrist. Unknowingly, it will be a constant reminder to Chloe that somewhere out there somebody understood, that Chloe wasn't alone and that no matter how hard or how many times she falls down she'd be she'd always be able to climb up that damn ladder again.

Until the last minute, before her performance, Aubrey kept asking her if she really was okay and every single time Chloe assures her that she'd rather be up on stage than anywhere else tonight. Music is always her source of comfort. Her fans, their cheers are the only consolation Chloe has in such a toxic business. Stepping up the stage, she puts up her biggest smile and faces the world with the brightest version of herself. She pours all of it into her songs and pushes harder in her performance until she finishes it flawlessly.

Breathless, she thanks everyone, trying to blink back tears as she waves and quickly retreats backstage to quickly wipe the corner of her eyes. As soon as Alex grabs hold of her, Chloe finds herself whisked away to the exit but not after being quickly interviewed about the event and her current album. She gives out practiced and diplomatic answers with a small smile, posing for the cameras before continuing on.

"There was a mess up on the schedules for your music video filming and now we have to fly off to Ibiza tonight," Alex tells her apologetically and Chloe nods before everything starts sinking in.

"Wait, tonight?!" she asks in disbelief, stopping in her tracks and causing Aubrey to bump into her.

"Those idiots are the ones who messed up why does Chloe have to suffer?" Aubrey mutters angrily, shaking her head while Chloe looks back to where they just walked from. There wasn't really an issue on her part, the reason for her surprise was entirely something else and it comes in the form of pink and silver.

"Alex, did you find her?" Chloe asks eagerly and her manager momentarily looked confused. "Who—"

"That girl! Stars!" she blurts out and Alex's widen at the thought while Aubrey gives out a puzzled, _"Who?"_

"Oh right!" he exclaims, snapping his fingers before adjusting his glasses. "There are five of them wearing that outfit you described who work on the radio station's booth, Chlo… but that's all I have since the producers for the music video just called and well, mayhem broke," Alex says guiltily before pulling Chloe along again towards the exit only to stop again when Chloe resists.

"Good, then it'll just take five minutes and then we can leave," she reasons, already swivelling on her heels and going back. This time, it's Aubrey who catches her.

"Nope, bad idea," her friend says, giving Chloe a warning look. "You're forgetting that there are thousands of people out there, Chlo. You can't step out there without being groped, crushed and killed," Aubrey firmly points out.

"But I just want to return something!" Chloe protests, her eyes going down to the bandana still tied up on her wrist. She needed to give it back, or at least use it as an excuse to get the girl's name—maybe even her number.

"You have to leave it, Chlo. We're going to miss our flight if we keep stalling. I had a hard time booking one in the last minute," Alex adds, also taking hold of Chloe's other arm and this time successfully pulling her away in the opposite direction.

"B-But…" Chloe's resolve falters as she is safely brought to her car, looking back at the stadium sadly. She sighs and takes her iPod instead, plugging in her earphones and allowing herself to sink into the music instead, hoping, wishing, praying that one day their paths would cross again.

One day.

* * *

 **Present time**

The bright light bathes Chloe as she moans, eyes squinting at the brightness assaulting her eyes and her frown deepening as she feels the dryness of her throat. She could smell the familiar scent of alcohol, medicine, and clean fabric detergent which means she is back in the hospital except this time it looked smaller. They seemed to have brought her to a nearby clinic this time. Feeling lost and scared, she blinks, trying to get hold of where she was or what was happening. She tries to move when she feels her hand trapped in someone's grasp. She looks over to her side and finds dark brown hair spilled messily on her arm.

"Beca,"

Chloe sighs in relief at the sight of the sleeping female, her head resting next to Chloe's arm while her hands held hers captive. Gradually sliding out of Beca's hold, she runs her fingers gently onto the tiny brunette's hair. The light motion wakes the DJ up with a start as Chloe tries not to the chuckle at how heart-warming it was when Beca suddenly sits up and looks at her with excessive concern.

"Dude! Seriously, you have to stop doing that!" Beca says worriedly. "Did you know how much you scared me? It's not cool at all, Conrad!" she continues on and Chloe realizes just how happy she was to wake up in the wrong body. For a second there it did feel like she went back. "It's really not funny, I thought you died!" Beca almost shouts as Chloe smiles weakly.

"I'd never leave you, dummy," Chloe says as she sits up, her hand finding Beca's. Her eyes search into those dark blue orbs and finds fear and relief in them. "Together forever, right?" Chloe's words seem to have stirred something in Beca and soon Chloe is engulfed in a rare tight hug coming from the brunette.

"I didn't mean it when I said I wasn't going to give you anymore hugs," the tiny female murmurs before awkwardly adding, "Just… don't tell the boys I said that," and Chloe laughs before it fades as a troubling thought lurks in the back of her mind.

For a moment, she really felt that she was back in own body.

If her assumptions are right, then there is a possibility that her dreams were actually real and that every precious second that passes might eventually be her last with Beca. Any moment now, she might just be pulled back into her real life. She still had a lot of questions though. One of them is, when exactly does it happen? Or is there something that triggers it? She's guessed that maybe every time her real body starts regaining consciousness that's when the 'switch' occurs.

The thought of parting from Beca again scares her, more than she realizes and this brings her to suddenly feel desperate. Because no matter how many times she denies it, she knows deep down that being back to Chloe Beale would mean having to be the outsider in Beca's life and that meeting each other would be a very complicated thing. Also, how does she start explaining to Stacie and Beca that she's been a part of their lives, living in their apartment, eating their food and befriending all their friends? Knowing Beca, she'd probably laugh in absurdity and then in an awkwardly painful manner, back away to the other end of the world.

"I have something for you," Chloe admits as Beca finally releases her. The smaller female looks at her curiously as she pulls out something in the pocket of her jeans and places a USB in her open palms.

"What is in this?" Beca asks immediately with an amused smile and Chloe suddenly feels nervous. Chloe's eyes momentarily avoid Beca's and suddenly the white sheets are interesting.

"Uhm, it's just a little something I made… I got some inspiration to write and—"

"You wrote a song? Really?" Beca's excitement is evident in the way her eyes light up with Chloe's words.

"I… got bored?" she supplies with a sheepish smile especially with Beca's, _"I'm now fully convinced boredom is good on you,"_

Chloe couldn't exactly say the reason why she wrote the song, who she really wrote it for and what it is about. Although, Chloe is pretty sure Beca would instantly get what it means once she listens to it.

"But the thing is, I want you to have it," Chloe says, "You can use it, sing it, whatever—also I didn't have anything for your birthday which I know you don't want to celebrate but I just thought that I still need to give you something even if it's small so…"

"You're giving me a song as a gift?" Beca finishes for her as Chloe shrugs.

"Y…eah?"

Beca's genuine smile is priceless and to Chloe that reaction was better than anything she was ever hoping for.

"Dude, you made a song. That isn't 'small'. Nobody has ever gave me a song," Beca replies, looking down at the small object on her hand the same way any artist looks at their shiny trophies on any awards show.

"I can't wait to hear it," Beca suddenly says, looking back at her before peeking around the room and then offering her hand towards her. "C'mon let's go,"

Chloe frowns a bit at her words, "Where?"

"Out of here? Duh?" Beca says in a matter of fact tone, giving her a look.

"Yeah but," Chloe pauses as her eyes travel to her other hand where an IV was connected. "We need to call the nurse and…" her words trail off as she watches Beca walk around to the other side, hands motioning over to the needle punctured into her veins.

"Becs? What are you doing?" Chloe looks at the brunette in alarm, backing away from Beca's offensive hands.

"Taking that thing off? Well, if you want to keep dragging that then be my guest," she answers simply as Chloe swats her hands away.

"No! Call the nurse," Chloe demands as Beca shifts closer.

"Nah, we got to go, I gave them your fake name anyway so there won't be a problem—"

"What does that supposed to mean? And why the fake name?" Chloe asks before being hushed by Beca.

"So that I can secretly wheel you out of here after midnight and not pay for those expensive stupid extra fees for more tests. It's not like they did surgery on you or something, those greedy bastards," Beca shakes her head before cursing on the clinic and the people who run it. "They don't even know what happened to you and couldn't even give me a straight answer," Beca complains.

"B-But Becs!" Chloe pleads as Beca grabs hold of her hand. "This is crazy!" she squeals as Beca starts peeling the adhesive medical tape.

"Yeah I know, keep it down!" Beca hisses before pausing as Chloe begs her to stop.

"Wait! Have you done this before?" she asks and Beca sighs.

"Yep, it's just one pull and then we're done, Stace. You're not going to die," Beca lazily replies and Chloe doesn't even find it convincing enough. "Look, just bite on my shoulder," Beca finally says.

"Bite where?!" she asks in disbelief while Beca taps her own shoulder for emphasis.

"Hey, look at me," Beca says slowly, gently touching her face as she sees the tears threatening to fall from Chloe's eyes. "Trust me, okay?" Chloe nods and as soon as Beca pulls out the IV, her teeth clamp on to the brunette's shoulders, eyes tightly shut, her shriek muffled against skin.

"Ow! ow! Easy, easy, ow! It's done now! Bad, bad kitten!" Beca protests, trying to keep her voice low while her face grimaced in pain as Chloe opens her eyes. She pulls away, looking at her bruised hand, the needle now dangling in Beca's fingers.

"Eww," she frowns as she looks at her hand, gently pressing it with a clean cloth to stop the blood from spilling out. She then brings back her gaze towards Stacie's best friend.

"Let's go?" she asks as if nothing happened while Beca eyes her cautiously.

"How many more love bites are you going to give me, really?" she mutters, rubbing on her shoulder as Chloe lips tug into a wide grin.

Looking at Beca innocently, she slowly leans and whispers mockingly, "But that's what bad kittens do—"

"I can't, with you—no,"

* * *

Chloe already had an idea of the crazy and strange things she would probably experience being in someone else's body but never had she thought that escaping a clinic in the middle of the night like a thief would be one of those. Laughing, she and Beca basically jump in Fat Amy's truck and speed away with the security guard shouting behind.

"Oh my god, that was insane!" Chloe heaved, her hand on her chest where she feels the rapid beating of her heart. Beside her, a smirking Beca driving in full speed, swerving and then turning around the corner sharply making Chloe shriek. Beca hollers in delight as they made it far away, their escape a success.

"My heart is about to explode," Chloe comments, a smile still plastered on her face.

Beca glances at her, looking quite proud. "Feels good, doesn't it?" she asks and Chloe looks back at her, throwing her a meaningful smile.

It was only after a couple of minutes that Chloe slowly realizes that wherever they are heading to is certainly not back home. Looking around, Chloe tries to figure out where exactly they are headed but as they start to exit the city, she returns her focus to Beca who seemed to act like everything was all normal.

Finally giving in to her burning curiosity, Chloe resorts to asking, "Becs, where… exactly are we going? Because I don't think this is the way back to our place,"

The brunette just hums in response and nods, eyes still focused on road ahead with one hand on the wheel while the other hanging out of the window. Exhaling loudly, Chloe tries again, "At least, give me an idea here?" and this time Beca smiles before speaking.

"We're running away, Stace. Far, far away," she says casually and Chloe couldn't make out whether she was joking or serious. But certainly that had to be a joke, right?

"No, really. Where are we going?" she asks, now looking more concerned.

"Far away where no one can find us. Your new name is Bonnie, I'm Clyde, and we love trouble," Beca's smirk earns a playful shove on the shoulder from Chloe.

"I'm serious Becs!" she says but the small curve of her lips betrays her serious façade.

"I'm taking you somewhere nice so, be less violent, will you?" Beca replies and before Chloe could speak, she adds, "We'll be there in a couple of hours but I promise, you'll like it,"

"Like a road trip?" Chloe's suggests, excitement evident in her voice as she looks at Beca keenly while the brunette looked at her proudly.

"I told you we would, right?" Beca says pausing briefly in thought before continuing, "Well, you said you wanted to when we like, got drunk and you were singing me that song by your _friend_ Riri," Beca reminds her as Chloe groans.

"You're really not going to let me live this down, are you?" Chloe grumbles, looking away because her face is heating up again at the particularly interesting memories while Beca shakes her head no.

Chloe would want nothing but to wipe off that mocking smirk off Beca's face but the truth was, she also loved it, loved it enough to want to kiss those lips. Because wouldn't that be an interesting way to wipe off a smirk? But she couldn't do that, not in this body. Looking out to the road, the cool night air whipping her face, Chloe wished to stay like this forever. She felt so good, her heart was calm and life's problems seem so far away. This is exactly what she had been looking for. She did miss her family and her friends but this current moment was making her forget all that.

It did take about a couple of hours to arrive at their destination in spite of a short bathroom break which Chloe thought she'd die from—sweet mother mary, germs, germs everywhere—but she did survive that and Beca had jokingly awarded her a non-existent medal of honour for her _bravery in the face of doom_. Nevertheless, it was almost 4 in the morning when Chloe was gently woken up from her light nap _—'Get up, Jigglypuff. We're here,'_

The first thing she sees is rocks, dry land, the side of the road up ahead and some houses. Definitely, not what she is expecting from what Beca had seemed excited to show her. Frowning, she turns to Beca who is now getting off the truck. However, what Chloe hears next brings hope.

The sound of waves crashing on rocks and washing up on the shore.

Turning her head around, that's when she realizes that Beca had parked the car backwards. They were on top of a cliff over-looking the beautiful beach. The sky wasn't that dark anymore and in an hour the sun is about to rise. From the looks of it, they were probably somewhere in San Diego. Opening the car door and jumping off elatedly, Chloe was greeted with the scenic view of the ocean. She gapes at the beauty filling up her eyes and breathes in the fresh ocean air. Walking up to the back of the truck, she sees Beca climbing up and laying down what appears to be a couple of pillows and some comfy-looking blankets. After she finishes, Beca turns to her and offers a hand which Chloe takes and soon, she's wrapped in warm blankets, looking out to the ocean with her favourite cup of tea in her hand and just happy to be next to her favourite person. Unlike Chloe, Beca had black coffee in her own mug. Apparently, the charming brunette packed some snacks and a couple of travel necessities as well.

Beca was right, she did like it a lot. This was surprisingly better than those fancy resorts she's been to. Or maybe it's just better wherever Beca is.

They sit in comfortable silence for a while before Chloe's brow creases a bit in thought, "Why am I Jigglypuff?" she blurts out suddenly as Beca snorts before lifting up her cup of coffee to drink.

"Because you hum a song even in your sleep?" Beca finally replies before adding, "Or when you get drunk,"

"Fine, I'll take that. But if I'm Jigglypuff then you have to admit, you are so Snorlax," Chloe retorts as Beca frowns.

"I'm not that fat," comes the defensive reply.

"Snorlax only wakes up to eat, a lot, or when there is music," Chloe slowly points out and Beca opens her mouth before closing it again in second thought before slowly nodding her head. A small 'Oh' leaving her lips as Chloe smiles.

"Shit, I'm a Snorlax," Beca says in a funny and aware kind of way as a giggle escapes Chloe's lips.

They continue to talk fondly about the little things, sometimes debating about nonsense stuff, all in good fun of course, and Chloe still can't believe how easy it is for them to talk about literally anything. Being with Beca was just so comfortable and smooth. That was until the brunette takes out her laptop that things start to shift a bit. Especially when Beca takes out the USB Chloe gave her earlier which she almost forgot because of their impromptu road trip. Beca then inserts it in the USB port and that's when Chloe's insides start to turning into knots. She's written songs for other singers too but she never recalled being this nervous. Chloe's songs are pieces of her soul and today she is just about to give a huge piece of it to Beca, willingly and whole-heartedly. This time she won't be able to hide behind 'Stacie', all of this is completely her, laid out bare in front of Beca.

The anticipation in Beca's eyes is clear and it shows with just how fast she is to click the audio track. The deep, alluring beat starts slowly and Chloe observes the small tilt of Beca's head and the way her eyebrows raise ever so slightly in surprise. However, a small crease appears on the brunette's forehead before looking back at Chloe questioningly.

"It's a really magnetizing electronic melody and I really love it. It's that good," she pauses and Chloe already knows what she's just about to say, "Have you made any lyrics to this song?" Beca asks as the music continues to float on.

"Yeah. I just haven't recorded any vocals on it yet," Chloe simply answers before reaching out to push a button on Beca's laptop. The song stops mid-way before repeating right back to the start. This time, as the intro plays, Chloe's lips part to sing the song she composed a couple of nights ago.

 _ **Rising like the smoke  
You linger on me  
You got me so high  
I can finally breathe  
You're walking poetry,  
**_

 _ **It's what you do to me**_

Her voice carries on steadily, her eyes looking down before fluttering up to meet Beca's. Chloe holds her gaze, getting lost in those deep blue orbs as she continues to sing, her face almost inches from the listening brunette.

 _ **Touch me with no hands  
Hold me with your eyes  
Unwind me with your mind tonight  
Speak with no words  
**_

 _ **Show me and I'm all yours**_

Chloe's eyes slowly descent down to Beca's lips, appreciating all of the female's distinct features before finding her eyes once more. She felt drunk without the alcohol in her system. She was high without any drug. And the beating of her heart was unmistakable with every word she sings.

 _ **All that you are  
Is all that I need**_

 _ **Rising like the smoke  
You linger on me  
All that you are  
Is all that I need  
Rising like the smoke  
You linger on me**_

There's probably no returning from this. Chloe now realizes that the inevitable has just happened. She meant every word, all of it. Two years ago was a mistake, it was terrible mistake.

 _ **You got me so high, I can finally breathe you  
Finally breathe you, finally breathe**_

 _ **You got me so high, I can finally breathe you  
Finally breathe you, finally breathe**_

 _ **And I'm all yours, all yours**_  
 _ **And I'm all yours, show me**_  
 _ **I'm all yours, all yours**_

 _ **I'm all yours**_

She made such a huge mistake of letting her slip away once and Chloe knows that if it happens again, she's going to regret it for the rest of her life. Beca wasn't just the girl she met in the bathroom. She wasn't just a crush anymore.

 _ **All that you are  
Is all that I need  
**_

 _ **Sunset in your eyes  
Light me with your loving  
I'm searching for the thrill  
It's you, you make me feel  
**_

 _ **You make me feel**_

The truth simply was, this was her reply to the song Beca made for her. Those questions that Beca had written, those _'what if's',_ the insecuritiesand her implications of Chloe being unable to see her standing right in front of her. But the point was, Beca had assumed wrong all this time. Because Chloe knows. She sees her clearly ever since that first moment and clung to her so tightly. Beca had only been too scared. And that's exactly their problem, they were just so afraid to break the many walls in between them. But in some magical miraculous twist of fate, finally after two years of wandering around bricks and stones, Chloe's finally found crack on that wall to slip in and answer back. If only Beca knew, this song wasn't created out of boredom, it was a confession. Chloe's love confession.

 _ **I'm all yours**_

* * *

 **A/N: I'm alive! I made it! I survived! Thanks to everyone who wished me luck on my interview. It went well.**

 **Anyways, there are more important matters like these two individuals in this story that we need to talk about. Honestly, I smell the repulsive stench of love wafting around the air which also means that things are about to change. The question is, will this stinky garbage find its forever trash can home or will it remain loitering all around around the cold streets of your city? Tune in for more of the _'The Filthy Adventures of Yuck Also Known As Love'_. And by the way, your guesses are all wrong, obviously :P**

 **The song which isn't mine actually is a real song-unfortunately, I am no songwriter. So credits to the amazing, talented and lovely, Alina Baraz & the equally talented and wonderful Galamatias and their classy hypnotizing song which happens to be one of my top favorites, 'Show Me'**

 **Thank you very very much to all those who followed/favorited/commented/reviewed/messaged me. This story continues to live because of all of you.**


	11. We Won't

**Chapter 11**

 **We Won't**

 **2 years ago**

"Oh god, bitch wake up! Look at the time! We have to go to work!" Stacie comes barging in Beca's room waking her up from her precious slumber and yanking out her blanket harshly. Beca helplessly groans and glares or at least try to give out a glare her sleepy face could make.

"Why?" she whines as she realizes how early it still is and gets dragged just as harshly out of bed that she thought she lost an arm.

"Today's the day Calvin Harris and Chloe Beale are going to be at our radio station!" Stacie almost screams excitedly as she pushes a disoriented Beca in the bathroom and before Beca could even turn around completely she has her towel thrown at her face. Taking the cloth off of her head she faces her smirking best friend who then slams the door in front of her face before she could say _'Don't'_.

"Hurry up and don't you dare go back to sleep! I don't want to be late so if you aren't out in 15 minutes I'm coming in and scrubbing you from head to foot," Stacie threatens rather seriously and Beca sighs heavily, looking at her reflection in the mirror drearily.

Kidding aside, she did thought of sitting in a corner of the bathroom and getting some more sleep.

It's been almost three months since the music festival and ever since then Beca had been following the blue-eyed superstar in social media—yes Beca has Instagram and Twitter which were almost non-existent until three months ago. By now, Chloe has dropped singles off her album, one of them being that amazing collaboration with the said DJ. Of course, relationship rumours sparked from the collaboration and T-Swift fans aren't happy about it. Beca chooses not to believe in it though and thinks the stupid gossip was just created by those annoying paparazzi to create scandals regarding the beautiful singer.

Shaking her head, Beca finally discards all her clothes and enters the shower stall, with the hopes that the warm water coursing through her skin clears her mind of things. However, that special memory from the music festival unconsciously plays through her thoughts like a broken record on repeat.

She was going to see her again.

There's no denying it, her heart thumps excitedly at the prospect of bumping into Chloe once more. In contrary to that, her mind keeps telling her that there is no way she would even remember her. She was easily forgettable to anyone if she were to base it on experience. But it wasn't bad to hope, right? Even though hope wasn't a friend of hers. The only kind of hope she is very familiar with is _false hope_ which has been her constant companion ever since she was a child.

Her thoughts are cut short at the sudden loud knocking coming from the outside followed by her best friend's incessant prodding, "10 more minutes, Mitchell!" and Beca's heart almost leaps out from her chest. On the other hand, her soap flies out of her grasp which earns a big fat crispy string of curses.

"I know where you keep your sex stash!" she yells back threateningly which Stacie counters with a, _"I'm holding your laptop hostage right now!"_ earning a frustrated growl from Beca.

"I hate you," she mutters only to be replied by a very assertive, _"I heard that!"_ and Beca could only shake her head.

Needless to say, she safely got her laptop back before her psychopath best friend starts doing physics experiments with it from the balcony.

Currently, Beca is just about to do her usual morning military exercise as she and Stacie navigate through the early morning traffic because every day is certainly a battle. After parking their dying car a couple of blocks away, they quickly jog to the radio station. Beca hurriedly rolling up her earphones around her iPod before placing it in her jeans pocket while Stacie checks her appearance on anything that has reflective glass. When they near the entrance however, Beca almost makes a quick turn and jog back home at the sight of fans, lots of overly excited and enthusiastic fans waiting for their idols to drop by in a couple of hours.

For some reason, security has only started barricading the entrance with crowd control barriers, and this leaves them to fight their way through countless bodies in front of them. Beca gets pushed and almost shoved to the ground if it weren't for Stacie who literally grabbed her to safety.

"Make way bitches! I have a 5 year old child with me!" her best friend yells and Beca instinctively nudges her best friend's side with her elbow for the undying height joke. Once they enter the safety of the station's glass doors they heave a sigh of relief and Beca almost kisses the floor, happy to have survived the war.

"Hey Allan, quiet morning we have today," Stacie breathlessly greets the head of security who gives her a tired smile. "Just wait, it's going to get more peaceful later," he scoffs before eyeing Beca, hunched over with her hands on her knees.

"Yo, panda, need an ambulance?" he asks jokingly calling his nickname for her while she throws another glare at him, her dark blues almost reflecting her heavy black eye make-up. "You get funnier every day, baldy," she replies, throwing shade at the shiny spot on the middle of his head.

What a peaceful day indeed.

Getting down to work, Beca manages to run here and there, serving coffee, plugging and unplugging wires, fetching material for today's morning show while Stacie works on her PR skills as she handles the numerous phone calls they get every day, a job Beca couldn't do for a long period of time since she'd surely end up breaking the phone in frustration—it's surprising how stupid people are nowadays.

Entering the booth, Beca places the coffee next to one of their main FM radio jockeys, Dan 'The Man' Fletcher, along with the papers filled with announcements, sponsors, endorsements, invitations and promotional game questions. She then continues to place water bottles in front of the empty seats where their guests will be sitting later on. She lingers for a moment at the seat that Chloe would supposedly sit on before getting back into motion and slipping out of the main booth and into the control room. Taking her place behind their radio director who then starts signalling the time towards Dan through the see-through glass. Beca stands anxiously, ready to do whatever she'll be told to do as always. After some last minute check-ups they are finally on-air.

The clock ticks and everyone is just filled with tension and anticipation for the arrival of their main guests. Based on the number of people tuning in, they'd surely get a good rating today. It's the Chloe Beale magic and Beca isn't even surprise. The girl has conquered not only the radio waves and the gigantic billboards all over the city but also the big screen. Not to mention, a very strong fan base which has even doubled after the sudden change of genre.

Surely, anyone who can win Beca Mitchell's attention is undoubtedly a goddess.

But when their director turns to Beca and asks her to go down to the stockroom on the 3rd floor to search for an extra stuffed toy of the radio mascot, the hopes of getting front row seats to see Chloe again plummet down hard to the ground. Their room was already filling up with staff from all the departments who all want a glimpse of the famous redhead—and okay maybe the 'hot' DJ too. By the time she returns she'd be lost in the forest of tall people hovering around the booth.

So yeah, Beca is pissed and disappointed. If it wasn't for her iPod providing comfort in music, she would have created havoc. Instead, there she was diving in boxes and boxes of stuff in search for a stupid toy that one of her bosses' kids would be throwing away later. When she does find the object of her suffering smiling mockingly at her, she realizes that she looks like somebody who has wrestled lions and bears while rolling around dust.

This is totally one of the worst days of her life.

Deciding not to head back up just yet—because what's the point anyway?—Beca drags her feet to the restroom to try to make herself look human again. Placing the toy on the sink's counter she proceeds to wash her hands. Checking herself on the mirror she runs her fingers through her hair, getting rid of a few knots here and there. She pauses for a second, her eyes slowly falling at the toy, a radio cartoon character.

"What's so funny?" she asks monotonously.

"It's not like it's such a big deal to see some popular singer," she continues, shifting her weight on one foot.

"I can always see her on TV, listen to her songs on the radio and there's Youtube too," she bites on her lip as she stares longer before flicking the toy with her fingers, a small frown forming in her face.

"Fine, I really do want to see her again. Happy?" she snaps at the toy now laying on its back. "I just… wish that she remembers… me,"

A thought slowly starts to sink inside her and that's when it hits her. In a second, she quickly grabs the toy before dashing out the restroom. Running to the elevator, she hastily presses the button before throwing her hands up in the air in frustration as she sees the elevator already ascending upwards. Making a quick decision, she finally races up the flight of stairs instead, her whole body was close to collapsing on the floor as she makes her way up to the 12th floor. How she miraculously made it up 9 floors by foot is creating records for the generally lazy Beca.

By now, she regrets her decision to bail on the elevator but despite feeling like dying, she picks herself up and turns to the corner only to be met by people gathering on that very floor.

Like, a _lot_ of people.

Coughing and heaving, she squeezes her way around, jumping up and down to even catch a small detail of the famous redhead who is now inside the booth, promoting her new album. Her eyes see red locks swept to one side but unfortunately, the singer had her back towards her. Chloe wore a beautiful white form-fitting dress that ran up to her knees. Beca could tell that she was having a good time, laughing, singing and chatting animatedly with Dan—and okay yes, Calvin Harris too.

Somehow, this happy vibe coming off from the star brings a smile on Beca's lips. It was such a far cry from the first time they met. Now if only she could see her face. Using her small built to her advantage and some stealthy ninja moves she learned from Benji, Beca finally manages to get a better view from the side. It's a little cramped being in between bodies and she couldn't hear anything from the inside but at least she has a visual. This time Chloe has placed down her headphones as she signs her CD and gives it to Dan. After a few more lighthearted chatting, Dan is back on air to name some of their sponsors as Chloe looks around the booth, her hands tapping on the chair's armrest while her head lightly bobs to nothing but the beat in her head which Beca found to be cute.

Whatever melody Chloe was creating in her mind, Beca wanted to listen to.

When their radio director, Jill, comes in to give some reminders, Chloe listens intently and just before Jill leaves, Beca observes the singer quickly stopping her to ask a question. Jill seemed to be deep in thought for a while, looking around before answering Chloe who nods and looked a little disappointed. Soon the singer's focus is pulled back on air as she answers some questions from fans who called in, her lips breaking into another dazzling smile.

About half an hour has passed when the whole thing ends and now Chloe is posing for the cameras with Dan—and the other DJ. But then like all disappointing events in Beca Mitchell's life, meeting the beautiful singer was like reaching for the stars, literally.

Before Beca knows it, she is pushed to the far end and whatever hopes she had of seeing the redhead crumbles pathetically. As soon as Chloe comes out of the booth, everything just went crazy. The security personnel formed a human shield around the singer who was kind to squeeze herself in a couple of photos with some of the staff upfront despite the wall of bodies trying to escort her to the elevator and out of the building.

With slumped shoulders and heavy feet, Beca walks back in the booth after the chaos dies. Of course, a smug looking Stacie gets a photo of her with Calvin—that, and a kiss on the cheek—and Beca tries to be happy for her before fixing the mess that was left. Cleaning up would be her job. Intern life is basically the current term for slavery after all. Throwing away empty coffee cups and water bottles, she walks out again to the Administration department for another errand but as she pauses for a short water break and reaches for her pocket she finds her fingers reaching in to nothing.

Her iPod is missing.

Panic fills Beca from head to foot. Everybody who knew her knows that one does not mess with any of her three favourite things, her electric guitar, her laptop and her iPod. Right now one of those precious things is missing. Slapping her forehead with her palm, she remembers placing it on top of the toilet on some small mounted wooden table. She placed it there since pulling down skinny jeans when you do your business requires you taking out gadgets from your pocket, as every woman knows. It's just usually she wasn't forgetful and stupid as today.

Rushing down back to the third floor's restroom, Beca was close to flipping the whole restroom when she finds nothing. Breathing out loudly in frustration and shaking her head with dread, she walks out only to be stopped by one of the security.

"Did you lose something?" he asks as Beca stops abruptly and quickly mutters a 'yes' before anxiously describing her iPod. The security personnel, Jack, nods and when he pulls out Beca's iPod from his jacket pocket, Beca feels relief wash down on her.

"I was about to take it to Admin but thought that maybe the owner would probably be back for it so I had to check one last time," he explains and Beca thanks him profusely. She could almost kiss him right then and there—that's how important this is.

Finally breathing calmly, Beca plugs in her earphones into her ear and opens her iPod to see that somebody seemed to have been listening to one of the songs in her upbeat _'I want to go drive to the beach but can't'_ playlist. She'd know. It wasn't what she had been listening to earlier—it is the _'I hate life right now so I'll wallow_ _in angsty music_ _instead'_ playlist. Anyways, she'd let Jack's nosiness slip once since he brought back her life.

But as she presses play on the song, Beca finds that Jack has good taste and maybe she needed something a little bit upbeat today.

With her thoughts drifting to a certain redhead, Beca figures that once she gets a day off she'd head to the beach and just watch the sunrise or the sunset. Either way, she needs to relax. Maybe find a pretty bright blue-eyed babe who loves the same music as she does and simply have fun.

Oh, how she wishes so.

But when those bright blues come with a face and a stunning smile, that's when Beca realizes one thing.

She has a crush on Chloe Beale and its growing, rapidly.

* * *

There are things in life Beca has yet to fully comprehend. Meaning, there had been instances when some certain life events still confuse her. An example of which is, cheating. Yes, cheating. Not the ordinary cheating in class kind but the one where a person who is already in a romantic relationship with someone suddenly thinks it's okay to sleep with another. Said person would then go and repeat the ' _mistake'_ , as they would famously like to call it, for as long as weeks or months even until their significant other eventually finds out. But why keep the relationship when you're ' _unintentionally'_ enjoying nights with somebody else? Wasn't the point of having an affair a clear sign that you no longer want to be with your ' _legal'_ partner? And please don't even think of waving the sympathy card or the 'But-I-don't-want-to-hurt-him/her' card. To Beca that's complete cow poop. Whatever the answers are, reasonable or not, it's still wrong and in the end, Beca still doesn't understand.

But then maybe if 'cheating' was the only topic Beca had to be confused about then maybe it would have been easier. Because at this moment, Beca Mitchell has found another situation to be confused about and this one could possibly take the cake.

Growing questionable feelings for your best friend.

Beca knows attraction, she knows what it's like to have a crush but when her best friend of more than 10 years, the one person she considers as family, makes Beca's heart beat in a weird rhythm she has never felt before then what do you call that?

It's confusing.

There a lot of possible culprits for this confusing situation. The romantic beach, with the upcoming sunrise bathing the waters in a deep orange glow, the comforting warmth of bodies sitting next to each, and even the perfectly warm cup of coffee that has got her heart pumping loudly. But she figures that the biggest culprit would have to be the damn song that is currently stuck in Beca's head like super glue. As mad sexy as it sounds, the evil song is now, as she concludes, severely illegal to Beca's ears. It makes her feel all sorts of things which involves her best friend, of all people. It doesn't even help when that soft, smooth voice flows in and out of her head which then eventually triggers all the other body parts that aren't her head. Unbelievably, this predicament is currently testing her self-control. To those people whom she can count on one hand, those who know her, if it involves things outside the heart Beca is someone who has reckless sense of control,—turn to pages 2014-2015 of Mitchell & Conrad's epic college years. It's a different story when it comes to matters of the heart and that, Beca insists she has perfect control of. Which is why, despite the numerous relationships she's tripped in to, the truth is, Beca Mitchell has never really fallen in love, at least the reckless kind of love, the one that you have no control of. All these years Beca has built boundaries and limits around her heart out of fear, fear that if she did she'll only end up cooking a recipe for a broken heart. However, as it seems, said boundaries and limits are currently being in danger of being shattered. Reason being, if she wasn't mistaken, her mind is clearly fogged up for her to want to kiss her best friend in a way that wasn't just sexual but would certainly leave cracks all over the walls she built. Which is weird, strange, disturbing and disgusting.

Did she really just want to make-out with family?

True, Stacie is pretty, sexy and smart, all the qualities of an awesome girlfriend, that, Beca admits, but never ever in her life has she thought of her more than just a sister or doing all these other illicit thoughts to her. It was extremely absurd that Beca wished to whack her head with any blunt object but that would obviously kill her so she resorts to something less physical.

Avoidance.

The very thing, Beca has perfected all these years. Other than, masking the pain, hiding her real emotions, keeping her guard up, pushing people away and leaving, avoiding the problem is one of Beca's best defence mechanisms.

So she averts her eyes away from those intense orbs, compliments the fresh track beautifully sung to her, clears her throat, drinks coffee, and awkwardly turns off her laptop. All the while, cracking sarcastic jokes about how Stacie's head trauma awakened her sleeping brain cells and produced a good song, which also happens to be Beca's birthday gift—probably the best she's ever received. Also about how it just might be their ticket to Hollywood. _Seriously though, it just might be._ She doesn't speak of the song after that and she was thankful that Stacie never brought it up for the rest of the day either.

Speaking of which, except for a few bumps along the way, the day turned out well. The view of the sunrise was breath-taking and Beca felt good that she made Stacie happy. Her best friend looked really delighted with the way she smiled as bright as the sun and Beca still found it strange. She knew Stacie's smiles, the flirtatious smiles she gives off to someone she finds cute, the mischievous smile she shows when she is daring Beca to do something that would get them in trouble, the fake smiles she throws to an annoying costumer in the bar or to the boys who are as greasy as that ass, Tyler, the sad smile she gives whenever Beca tells her that she broke up with her girlfriend or boyfriend—in a way that is similar to someone talking about how they got a bad grade in their exam—and that happy smile whenever they celebrate a certain occasion. But this particular radiating smile she is currently wearing? That, Beca has never seen before.

Another strange thing that Beca still hasn't fully gotten used to is the sudden bursts of open displays of affection Stacie gives. Today, it seems her best friend is not holding back at all with all the kinds of hugs she's given Beca—the surprising back hug, the countless bear hugs and the protective side hug. The more lighthearted Stacie got, the more the affection she shows and unfortunately for the anti-hugging Beca, it seems her avoiding tactics are alarmingly failing in dangerous levels for the first time.

Strangely, her body isn't cooperating with her mind.

Like that time earlier when they are strolling around Solana Beach, Stacie's fingers intertwined with hers. And if you ask Beca how they ended up looking like lovers on vacation—which she's never going to admit because, no, they aren't—she'd laugh to disguise the fact that she is unable give out a concrete explanation. It just happened. Childishly, they've ran around barefoot on the seashore—Stacie's idea—, scoured a couple of vintage shops, ate some snacks at food stands and gotten matching henna tattoos—'Trust No Man' on Stacie's inner right arm and 'Fear No Bitch' on Beca's inner left arm—because for some reason unknown, after coming out of the accident Stacie suddenly fears needles which is unbelievable since she actually has a real tattoo on her lower back. A violet flower tattoo which happened to be her mother's favourite. She got it last year on her birthday and Beca was present to make sure the tattoo artist didn't mess up. Beca on the other hand, had a couple of all black tattoos. An artistic musical staff with the first notes of the first song she composed around her ankle, stars lined on her instep, metal headphones on the back of her neck with the headphones' wires connected to a sexy minimalistic electric guitar that stretched from her upper to her lower back and the bird tattoos on both her wrists which Stacie is now absentmindedly running her long fingers on.

They've been waiting for their pizza at a chic brewpub downtown and unknown to her best friend, the small actions are sending goosebumps on Beca's arm which travelled up to the back of her neck. Stacie had her head resting on Beca's shoulder, a growing habit of the tall brunette's as she continues to trace small circles on Beca's tattoos.

Avoidance.

Beca clears her throat and coughs up an excuse to get away, "I have to go the restroom," she voices out before walking off to splatter cold water on her face and exhaling out loud.

"What's wrong with me?" Beca mutters in frustration to her reflection on the mirror with a frown, scaring off a mother and her child who looked at her like she had gone insane.

Maybe she has.

It takes Beca a while to return but when she walks out, what greets her is a sore for the eyes. Some persistent guy seemed to be hitting on her best friend who in turn doesn't look comfortable at all with how close the dude keeps hovering near her. She sees Stacie shake her head no with a pursed smile that Beca could tell doesn't reach her eyes. Having had enough, Beca walks towards their table, eyes boring through the guy as she stops in front of him. It baffles her how boys just don't know what 'no' exactly means.

"Hey, do we have a problem here?" she asks in a tone that tells one to be cautious. Her venomous spikes were up and the guy looks back at her in surprise.

"No, none at all. I was just saying 'hi' to your lovely friend, over here," he explains before motioning over to two of his friends in another table and asking them if they'd like to join in on their little party.

Beca squints her eyes, nodding slowly in understanding with a smile dripping with sarcasm, "That'd be fun but I'm here on a vacation with my girl… friend, my girlfriend and you're kinda' being a disturbance right now so," she waves her fingers haughtily to motion him to back off. Also very much aware that she had just lied about her best friend being her girlfriend. How she even thought of such lie out of all the other things she could have said is baffling indeed—or maybe she just doesn't want to admit certain _things_.

The guy looked stunned for a few seconds, pointing his finger back and forth between them, "Girlfriend? You mean, you two…" he prolongs, looking at them in confusion and Beca sighs internally. She could feel Stacie's eyes on her and it's burning her skin.

"Yes, we're together, together as in fucking each other. Do you get that now or do you want me to call your parents so they can explain what that means?" she bites back and whatever her best friend's reaction to that lie was, she does not want to know.

"Oh," he says before smiling like an ass. "That's hot," he comments and Beca's blood starts to reach boiling point at the way he licked his lips as he looked at Stacie. "We could give you girls a free ride and some scratch if you'd, you know, do the explaining for us yourselves, give us a good show," he adds, rubbing his forefinger with his thumb for emphasis and that's when she snaps.

"You know what's hot?" she asks with a sardonic smile before reaching for the bread knife on the table and holding it up in front of his face. "This, up your ass," she says venomously as Stacie finally stands up behind her and places her arm around her shoulder to stop her.

"Becs, it's not worth it," she whispers in her ear as one of the friends finally walk over to pull the guy who had his hands up in the air in surrender. They laughed irritatingly as they reached their table and Beca eyes them murderously.

Unknowingly, her best friend had managed to get the knife from her grasp and sit her down while she hisses a bunch of curses. It's a bad habit, Beca knows, having such a bad temper that would result with someone in jail or the hospital but she's working on it. Truthfully she has got it to tone down a few notches ever since high school. Still, there are times like this when assholes make her bombs go off and when it happens nothing can ever stop—

 _That feels… good._

She'd been too wrapped up with the whole thing that it takes her a while before she finally realizes what was happening. Gentle fingers massaging the back of her neck, slowly travelling upwards to the back of her head and it was soothing enough for her to unconsciously hum in satisfaction.

"Harder?"

The question said in a way that makes Beca's eyes grow wider, has her brain shutting down unexpectedly before rebooting back up, her cheeks heating up with the air around her getting thick. So Beca immediately stands up, stuttering a lame excuse of checking up on their order but not before turning back to her concerned best friend and ordering her to yell and use the knife if ever the douchebags return.

Trying to breathe evenly, Beca shakes her head to get her mind to throw off strange thoughts, again earning her wary looks and people protecting their loved ones from her. She even almost forgets why she's in front of the counter and only snaps out of her daze when asked if she needed anything. She lifts up her receipt and asks about their order which would take five minutes more before being served. Nodding absentmindedly, she turns back towards their table when a poster hanging on the wall catches her eyes. She checks the time and date of the performance and slowly, a small smile forms on her lips.

 _Perfect_.

"What do you mean no? It's easy," Beca asks incredulously as she eyes her best friend in disbelief.

"I haven't done this before!" Stacie cries out in reply before shrieking. "Slowly! Becs!"

"Alright, we're going slowly and gently," Beca says calmly. "Everyone is a little unsure on their first time so it's okay, although, I have to remind you that technically this isn't your first," she adds once she sees Stacie's shoulders slump dejectedly.

"I suck at roller blading, those children are better at it so, you can go ahead and laugh at me," Stacie pouts, planting herself in one corner of the ring and eyeing the others while Beca chuckles.

"Aww, such positive little ball of joy, you are," Beca smiles before turning around and holding out her hand from behind, "Here, hold on to me," Beca offers and soon she feels her best friend's hand guiding hers. Another round of squeals, unintentionally cursing and a bruised butt—err ego—and soon she sees progress.

They've accidentally stumbled at a rollerblading rink while wandering around and thankfully her best friend's ankle injury is completely healed so she can laugh internally at how adorable the taller brunette was grumbling about this and that.

"Now, slowly, right then left, okay lean forward a bit. That's it," Beca releases her hold on Stacie as she watches the taller girl's face light up in amazement.

"I did it!" Stacie squeals before re-connecting her hand with Beca's. They circle around the rink slowly but much better than the turtle pace earlier.

"Hold up," Stacie suddenly says, tugging on Beca's hand as she eyes the music booth. Apparently, they take in requests and if her best friend is to change the boring sounds blaring in the speakers then Beca wouldn't stop her. She'd been thinking of requesting something more pleasing to her ears ever since they arrived but was pre-occupied with teaching Stacie how to rollerblade. She waits for her best friend who whispers her request before giving out a playful smile towards her.

That can't be good.

Beca frowns a bit, feeling the excitement from best friend who steps back in with her.

"What song did you request?" she asks almost immediately but was only answered with an innocent shrug and a smile. However, she didn't have to wait longer because as soon as Bruno Mars' 'Uptown Funk' ends she groans at the voice she hears.

"Beyonce?" she eyes her grinning best friend. "You can't even get more cliché than this, Conrad," she mutters, suddenly remembering that talk they had about going to the Grammy's. And again for the millionth time, Beca's cheeks tint a shade of pink especially when her best friend looks at her mischievously, dancing lightly to the beat.

" _Keep me humming, keep me moaning,"_ she sings and Beca suddenly feels dizzy.

The pink and orange lights sway around the dim room and those hips sensually swaying in front of her are making Beca's heart pound.

" _Can you eat my skittles? It's the sweetest in the middle,"_

But then she makes a mistake of looking up at those eyes. Those blue-green eyes look so dark in this dim room and for a couple of seconds they seem to turn a more prominent shade of blue, mesmerizing baby blues.

" _Make sure you clean that. It's the only way to get the… flavor,"_

Beca's heart almost stops completely as soon as their fingertips touch, warmth creeps up all over like ink spilled in a clear glass of water, slowly invading her whole system.

" _I want you to turn that cherry out… turn that cherry out,"_

She couldn't hear any of the sounds around her as those lips her eyes are focused on smile happily, moving with every lyric she sings. They were so close to each other now. Gliding closer and closer.

Closer.

Except the world spins as they topple and hit the floor messily and unglamorously. Beca had never been more thankful for the perfect timing. It hurts but that's better than another kind of hurt that would be too hard to mend. So she laughs it off, like always, shaking her head instead and helping her best friend up while making jokes about bruised butts and Beyonce.

Time to flip to the next page then.

"Where are we going?" Beca smirks at the question she'd been asked for about the thousandth time as she pulls Stacie along by the hand. Somehow, after the accident, her best friend just can't stand anything unplanned as if her life has been dictated by a series of well-scheduled activities and step-by-step instructions.

"Somewhere great," Beca answers shortly before suddenly stopping as her best friend plants her feet in place.

Beca turns around and is met with a suspicious look, "You're not going to take me to get a piercing or a real tattoo, right?" Stacie's tone goes up a bit and Beca could feel her tense up.

"Oh c'mon why'd you have to spoil the surprise? I heard friendship tongue piercings are the trend nowadays," she says teasingly but before she could say anything else she finds herself dragged to the opposite direction.

"Believe me, I'd do anything for you, Becs. Maybe I can handle a simple tattoo but the piercings are a definite no! I'm fine with the ears but other than that—just, I can't," her best friend rambles on and finally Beca smiles, this time resisting the taller female's pull.

"I thought our friendship is important to you? What happened to together forever—"

"Together forever doesn't include tongue piercings!" Stacie exclaims and finally Beca stops holding back her laughter. This earns her a smack on the shoulder. Clearing her throat, Beca finally stops laughing and stares at her pouting best friend. She steps closer and places her hands on both the other female's shoulders.

"Let go," she says which is answered by a confused look.

"Of what?"

Leaning closer, Beca smiles, a lot more genuine this time, "of everything," and now this time her best friend looked lost so she elaborates.

"Let go of everything that's holding you back,"

"How do I… do that?" comes the unsure tone.

"Stop thinking and just do it," Beca simply says before taking hold of Stacie's hand once more and pulling her as she walks to a specific direction, this time without any interruptions from the other female.

Beca walks towards the destination she wanted to go and as they get near, she hears Stacie's gasp from behind causing a triumphant smile on her own face. She feels the excited tugging before having the taller brunette squeeze her hand.

"An a cappella concert!" Stacie squeals in delight, lightly bouncing on her feet as Beca leads them to a nice spot. The show was near the beach so you just had to sit anywhere comfortable and Beca has always liked a laid-back style performance where you can just chill anywhere. The show was just about to begin any moment now.

"I promised you I'd take you to one so," Beca shrugs and in a second is engulfed by another bear hug.

"You remembered," Stacie says in awe. "You're the best, Becs!" she adds and Beca smiles before looking at her teasingly, "Again, you only realize that now?" she says, feigning hurt as she clutches her chest and shakes her head.

"You clearly don't know how awesome I was all this time and that kinda' hurts," she continues on.

But if Beca was waiting for a playful shove, a witty reply or a defeated sigh she was mistaken because this kind of reply was something she would have never guessed in a billion years.

A kiss on the cheek.

If a heart can explode, Beca's heart would have done just that, maybe even her currently malfunctioning brain along with it too. Her whole body had just frozen before heating up as the thought sinks in. She almost doesn't hear Stacie's soft and sincere _"Thank you, Becs,"_

It takes a couple of moments before Beca can glance at her best friend who gives her a huge smile before looking back towards the stage, swaying her head and tapping her hand on her lap to some kind of beat which was strange because there's no music at all, at least not yet.

"You're… weird," Beca mutters, wanting to break the awkwardness that she feels before faking a cough and taking a gulp from the water bottle she bought earlier.

" _And I'm going crazy,"_ she mentally tells herself.

"… _crazy in love"_ the thought breaks into her head and before she knows it she's choking and coughing, for real this time, from the water she is drinking with Stacie patting her back.

Beca never hated Beyonce more.

* * *

 **2 years ago.**

"We'll be back with more of Chloe Beale and Calvin Harris after a short break, stay tuned," Chloe watches Dan press a few buttons as the radio station's theme plays before cutting into a series of commercials. She takes off her headphones and quickly signs her album before handing it to him.

"God, the whole building is going crazy because of the both of you today!" Dan exclaims his face filled with a combination of amazement and disbelief after graciously receiving the hottest album at the moment.

"They are all here for her," Calvin says with a smile, pointing towards Chloe who waves her hand at him in denial.

"Shut up, the women are all over you, if you haven't noticed," she laughs before turning to Dan. "This is why I made sure to include him in the album,"

"Oh so that's the reason why!" the radio jockey chimes in before adding, "But Chloe you can't deny being well-loved by the women just as much. We've actually had surveys here and you always top the list for the female celebrity girls would want to date or make-out with," he reveals and Chloe's eyes go wide.

"What?!" she asks in disbelief as she hears Calvin laugh and say "I told you so!"

"We're definitely going to talk about this on air later," Dan excitedly says as Chloe smiles, covering her face with her hands, getting flustered at the thought as the radio jockey goes on air again to mention their sponsors.

Being lost in her own thoughts for a moment, her body swaying to a tune she's been composing in her head—a habit of hers—Chloe's attention only diverts back to reality when the radio director steps in to give them some small reminders on what to include in their interview.

"Hey I have a question," Chloe suddenly utters when the director starts to leave. She looks at Chloe expectantly and at this point, Chloe knows that her question may come off as a little weird.

"Of course," the director quickly says, looking at her intently.

"You guys were at the Love Sound music festival three months ago, right?" she asks and the director whose name is Jill, nods.

"Yeah so, uhm I kinda' met one of your staff and I was hoping to meet her again today—it's nothing bad, I just want to thank her for something," she quickly adds before continuing, "I think she is one of your female interns?" she looks hopefully up at the other female who seemed deep in thought.

"We have a bunch of interns working for us right now and I wasn't in-charge that time so I don't know who we sent. I think it was Paul who was managing that event but he isn't here right now so I'm not sure if I could help you—but if you give me her name then I could bring her to you," Jill kindly says as Chloe's heart sinks.

"Oh, the thing is, I didn't get her name and… anyways, thank you," she says, wanting to ask more but the time is up and they'd be back on air in a few seconds.

The rest of the interview went well, there were some questions from the fans too and a little game. Chloe started off in a good mood but after talking with Jill there was just a part of her that felt blue. She chose to do this radio show without even blinking when asked but as it turns out, she won't even get to see the person she was hoping to see today.

As soon as it ends Chloe is hurriedly pulled out of the booth and into the elevator to avoid being crushed by the number of people wanting to see her. Her smile fades as the elevator doors close and Alex, her manager, briefs her of her next scheduled appointment, which is being on Ellen.

"I need to go to the restroom," she suddenly blurts out. "Now," she adds as the radio's staff member assigned to them quickly suggests that they stop at the third floor. Thankfully, this floor was empty as soon as they step out. Clearly, almost everyone had went up to see her.

"Chlo, please hurry we can't be late," Alex reminds her as Chloe hums a reply and enters the bathroom. She checks herself on the mirror before sighing heavily. After a moment, she enters one of the stalls and as soon as she turns around to flush the toilet, an object catches her eye.

A black iPod.

Stepping out of the stall, she looks around, there was nobody else which means the owner probably forgot about it. Chloe would definitely feel depressed if ever her own iPod went missing and that's what the owner surely would be feeling right now. Setting the object near the sink, she turns on the tap to wash her hands. Her eyes drift back to the iPod and out of curiosity, as soon as she dries off her fingers she plugs in the earphones and listens to the song currently on pause.

This person certainly has music taste similar to hers as she browses through the whole playlist—ooh 'Flume' and 'VHS Collection'! Whoever you are, we are going to be really fast friends. At some point, she lets out a small laugh as she sees the names of the playlists. This person seems to love pizza or food in general. Entering a playlist named, _'No pineapple in my pizza'_ , Chloe finds that the songs in it seems like the one you could listen to when driving to the beach, at least that's what she feels like doing right now. She nods affirmatively before bobbing her head to the upbeat sounds.

Digging into her bag for her lip gloss, Chloe stops at the sight of the pink bandana folded neatly inside and sighs. Guess, she's going to have to hold on to it longer than expected.

A knock on the door makes her jump a bit and soon she hears Alex calling out for her. Hurriedly, she finishes up and closes her bag before heading out but not before doing one last thing.

"Uhm, by the way, I found this inside. The owner must be looking for it now," she tells Alex who then gives it to the security staff. Proceeding down the lobby, Chloe turns to her manager.

"I want to do another radio show here," she says.

"Okay, we can have you do one for your next album," Alex answers before checking his phone.

"No, Lex, I mean this year. I want to do one again," she firmly says and Alex looks up at her quizzically.

"Chlo, you are booked for the whole month—no actually the whole year. You are forgetting you have a world tour this year so after rehearsals we won't be in L.A. for months," he tells her in a matter-of-fact tone.

Sighing, Chloe's feet slow down as she looks back, her heart feeling heavy. She feels Alex tug on her, reminding her once more that they can't be late. Exhaling loudly, Chloe puts on her sunglasses, closing her eyes for a second before stepping out the radio station with a smile for the screaming fans.

Things may not have turned out as she hoped they would be but despite that, Chloe knew that even though life has threw her countless false hopes she remains devoted to thought of being positive and looking at the bright side.

Fate brought them together for a reason and Chloe may not know why but everything has a purpose and she is sure of a few things.

She wants to see _her_ again.

She's going to see _her_ again.

And no matter how long it takes, she will find _her_.

* * *

 **A/N: Okay that took quite a while. Why is that? Oh nothing big happened. It just involved a hospital, lots of anesthesia, a scalpel, other relatives of a scalpel and some painkillers, no big deal. And no, my precious hands are 100% in perfect condition, obviously. Still typing. I'm fine! Super fine!**

 **Beca on the other hand, might just badly need medical help. I mean, I think she's having heart palpitations, excessive body heat and other symptoms that-are worse than mine-need to be treated immediately. Because I'm telling you, that is not normal. I think her sickness starts with an 'L'. Lassa Fever? Listeria Infection? Whatever. It could be ginger fever for all we know! What's worse is I think it's airborne or from some kind of bug. Guys, seriously, you gotta watch out for your health, this virus is so strong. Nobody is safe!**

 **Thank you to those who followed, favorited, reviewed/commented-I can see all of you and bless you all for being so lovely.**


	12. Mistakes Like This

**Chapter 12**

 **Mistakes Like This**

"Mommy?"

Chloe rubs her eyes as she wakes up in her bed, carrying her favourite teddy bear as she slowly crawls out of her Little Mermaid themed blanket. Putting on her cotton kitten slippers, she opens her door to walk out the hallway and hears noise coming from the other room. Trudging to her parent's master bedroom she peeks in to see a couple of people surrounding her mother as Victoria Beale herself sits in front of the mirror. Her mother was being glammed up, a sight she is so familiar with. It was like a morning routine already.

"Cupcake," she hears her father's voice as he walks in, fixing his cuff links before kneeling down to face her. "Today's your day which means you can do anything you want and ask for anything you like, princess," John, her father says as he walks her towards where her mother was sitting. With her stylist finishing her hair into a classy do, she stands up and faces them.

"You should go down and eat your breakfast now, Chloe. We have lots to do later and you need to look fabulous as you blow your birthday candles," she says while gently touching her head and planting a kiss before turning to her organizer.

"Louise, I want everything perfect. Are the balloons already here?" she asks as her assistant holds her phone call for a moment to tell her that they are coming.

"Well, tell them they are late! We should have everything set up before lunch. God!" she lets out in exasperation as John gives her a look that tells her to calm down. "Also," this time she turns to one of her assistants. "Have Chloe's dress ready, please," she orders as her assistants scamper around to do everything she says.

Stepping out from the commotion going around, her father brings her downstairs to their wide dining room but no sooner was she seated in her chair when her father's phone starts to ring. Left with her nanny, she watches as her father talks about another film he has to work on. In short, Chloe spends another breakfast alone, eating her favourite cereal with her teddy bear. It's normal but soon, years from now, she'll find out that having a meal alone is something she'll detest.

But for now, in a few hours she finds herself in her ocean blue dress, sparkling shoes and a custom made tiara, the one with real diamonds because Victoria doesn't settle for less when it comes to her only daughter—also because she is preparing for the future when she'll have to send throwback childhood photos on TV interviews that will make everyone gush at cute Chloe.

"Ready, princess?" Chloe looks up at her father with a smile as she takes his hand and they make their way downstairs to where the guests are all waiting. Her mother had indeed made sure everything went well. From the royal princess theme down to the last detail of the five layers of castle birthday cake with the number 8 placed in the center.

Of course all of Chloe's classmates and playmates are in attendance. It's already certain that her birthday party will be the talk of the whole school tomorrow. As for the sweet little celebrant her smile can't go any wider as she played games, watched magicians perform and got to open gifts which were piled up even higher than her birthday cake. But among all those gifts, the one her parents gave her outshines them all because if people think that Victoria is the one who spoils Chloe the most then they were clearly mistaken because Chloe is after all daddy's little girl thus, the extravagant gift, a tree house. It's not just any tree house, it's probably the most sophisticated one out there, also the most expensive. Located at their massive backyard, the expensive tree house could easily beat any middle-class apartment. It has electricity, the most comfortable cushions, oversized pillows, a fireplace, a mini fridge, toys—basically all of Chloe's favourites, television and a sound system. It was John's secret project for almost a year, all of it just for to make his daughter happy.

As for the eight year old, today was her favourite day as she gets to spend it with family, friends and have lots of fun.

But then after a couple of hours, soon the house will be empty and Chloe is yet again left eating dinner by herself while her parents attend another evening gala.

When the eight year old climbs back up her bed, tucked in by her nanny, she holds her teddy bear whom she named Bella close to her chest as she looks around her bedroom filled with her new toys and somewhere deep down she just doesn't feel happy like she was earlier.

So, she hugs her teddy bear tighter because somehow it's the only way she can sleep without being afraid of ghosts, bugs or any kind of nightmare.

Unfortunately, this is going to continue on until she grows way bigger than her teddy bear. She'd soon have her own place which doesn't feel any different from her family home. Maybe her own personal space got larger, her bed now wider but that lonely feeling?

Much worse than ever.

* * *

There's something wrong.

Beca seems a little… indifferent to her and Chloe has no idea why. Yesterday they were having so much fun in San Diego. The small a cappella concert was great and they even ate ice-cream—which Beca insists because, _"The weather is so hot_. _Really hot here. Why is it so hot? Don't you feel hot?"_ —while doing some people watching. It was such a memorable day and it even ended perfectly as she got to sleep next to Beca again with a smile on her face _—"the apocalypse could happen anytime Becs. At least we die together"_. However, this morning, as soon as they got ready to go to work, Chloe feels that Stacie's best friend is somehow avoiding her. It was like the Beca yesterday had left and was replaced by a more reserved Beca. Cold, is probably the word since that's exactly what she is getting out of Stacie's best friend all day. But then when she asks about it, the reply comes along the lines of, _"Nothing's wrong. Just tired, that's all"_ , yet when she tries to reach out for her hand, the aspiring producer-musician is suddenly up on her feet and telling her that they have to get going or they'll be late.

So, Chloe figures that it's best to let it pass for a while and concentrate on work. That's right, work. It's her first day in the radio station and even though Stacie has been working there for years, it's technically Chloe's first time to get a job which doesn't require singing, acting or posing for the camera. To be honest, it was so frightening and nerve-wrecking that she already gets why her friend Aubrey throws up in situations like this because Chloe almost feels sick when they neared the familiar building.

2 years ago, Chloe had a train of security, staff taking care of all her needs and tons of screaming fans all wanting to even just get a glimpse of her. Today, she barely squeezes herself in the elevator along with all the other employees, meet her stern-looking boss, whom she remembers treated her like the president last time, and finally, sit down in front of a telephone which she has to answer whenever it rings. Having amnesia as a reason, she gets to be briefed on what buttons to press, what to say and how to handle the incoming requests from the listeners of the morning show. There were so many reminders that Chloe fears her brain suffered internal bleeding at one point. Everyone makes it seem so simple though and since she is immediately left to handle things by herself, she just reluctantly nods along.

If only it was that easy.

Having no background in any kind of job that will not require acting, singing or dancing, she has basically no idea what she's supposed to do. That first ring has her filled with dread and she almost panics if it weren't for Beca picking it up. She listens to how the brunette answers, amazed at how easy Beca makes it look before keying it in the computer in front of her.

"All the request go here and then you press this button so it comes out in Dan's computer," Beca continues to explain about the different departments' local numbers as Chloe tries to keep all that in mind. Admittedly, she is fast learner. Not to brag but she's had dance steps and lyrics all learned and memorized in less than a day. All she needs is to see Beca do it and then she gets the idea. She's now gained a huge amount of appreciation for her manager Alex, taking calls aren't easy.

Before leaving, Beca then places a cup of fruit juice on her table which makes Chloe smile up at her, happy that Beca even remembered her drink.

"Thanks, Becs," she says, holding on to the smaller girl's hand. Beca nods and then immediately moves away, her hand slipping off of Chloe's grasp as soon as her fingers come in contact with hers when only yesterday, Beca held on to her hand firmly as they walked along the streets.

There's really something wrong.

Chloe feels a sting on her chest yet she still doesn't know what she even did wrong. Has she said something Beca didn't like? As far as she remembers all they did was laugh and throw some playful banter at each other yesterday. This dilemma of hers is slowly creating a headache. But then her thoughts cut short at another incoming call. Breathing in deep, she finally picks it up and answers as cheerfully as she can—like whenever she goes sits on live interviews.

Aside from the prank calls, Chloe could say that she's doing quite well for her first time. Maybe if Hollywood gets tiring she could just work for the radio station and take calls. Every now and then she sneaks a peek at Beca who seems to be buried with work. The brunette doesn't even look her way yet when Jessica, from room 309, who also happens to work for the station as well, passes by, Beca greets her with a smile and even engages in some light chatting which only makes it clear that Beca wasn't just having a bad mood against the world. It's apparent that whatever the issue is, it has something to do with her.

So, Chloe decides lunch time is the best time to figure what in the world she did wrong.

Or not.

Lunch was definitely not the time for talking about serious matters. Jessie, Benji, Jessica and Ashley had all joined them for lunch at a nearby burger fast food chain. And as if avoiding her all morning wasn't enough, Beca widens the growing gap even more and chooses to sit in between Jessie and Benji—literally pushing Benji to the side to make herself some room. What was even more irritating was that Beca seemed to pull it off like nothing has changed. She acts like it was just any other day. And even though Chloe was enjoying the light conversations she can't help but want to pull Beca aside, with force if needed, so they can finally talk. But whenever she tries to it is often blocked by something like a random phone call or someone Beca apparently knows passing by since, for some reason Beca is being friendly to everyone, everyone but her. So, by the time lunch ends, Chloe has lost all her chances and is back to work.

She sincerely prays that dinner would be a good time to finally talk.

Or not.

This time, Chloe finds herself behind the counter of the bar Stacie and Beca are working for every weekday night, punching in numbers and swiping cards. The Cloud turns out to be such a popular hangout that they are quickly packed with costumers coming out from work to wanting to relax with friends. The real Stacie was usually next to Beca, bartending and socializing with people but since Chloe's elbow—Stacie's—hasn't fully recovered yet, she was assigned to be the cashier. Apparently, Beca's best friend was half the reason that the bar's regular customers are mostly anyone with testosterone or likes boobs if she were to base it on the number of times she's been winked at, offered drinks and flirted with. It's also amazing how people know horrible picky-up lines and for some reason unknown, use it— _"The only STD I have is sexually transmitted desire…for you"_. Does anyone fall for that? Chloe hopes not. She was actually getting good at turning people down which earns very confusing faces along with disbelieving looks—maybe after this is all over, she'll sit Stacie down and talk… about her life choices.

Speaking of talking, there was one other person she'd love to talk to but can't. Glancing to the other end of the counter, Chloe sees Beca casually flipping bottles up in the air and pouring drinks for the costumers. It also doesn't pass her that some girl has been sitting right in front of her for almost two hours and obviously giving her sex eyes. It certainly is unethical, cheap and Chloe has already thought of a thousand ways to eliminate the threat, a.k.a. creepy eyes blondie. But no, don't get her wrong, she's not jealous. The funny thing is, Chloe Beale doesn't do jealous. Yes, the Chloe Beale has never been jealous in her life when it comes to the object of her affection. It is other women—also men—who are jealous of her for having their significant other's eyes lingering far too long towards her. The point is, she's never felt jealousy and she assures she never will. She's just seething, glaring and throwing invisible daggers towards that attention whore for being a distraction to people who are working hard to earn money to achieve their dreams. She has every right to be mad. Does anyone know how hard it is to earn money through physical labor at this day and age?

"Calm down, legs, that costs a lot," Luke, the bar's owner and manager, warns teasingly as he stops by the front of the counter while she angrily punches down codes in to the machine.

Stopping for a second, Chloe clears her throat and apologizes, "Sorry Luke, it's just that there are a lot of _disturbances_ that are _disturbing_ the peace and quiet of this place," she says in between gritted teeth while organizing receipts at the table—or stabbing receipts on to the memo spike while intensely staring at attention-seeking blondie.

Luke frowns a bit at that, taking a step back cautiously in a safe distance before roaming his eyes around the bar, taking note of the music, loud laughter, the cheers and the lively chatting from the patrons.

"It's definitely tranquil in here," he comments subtly before noticing what seems to be the said _'disturbance'_ currently talking to one of his best employees.

"Oh" was the only thing that leaves his lips before frowning once more and sliding closer to the fuming woman. He did make sure that she was done killing receipts first before doing so.

"So, which is it? _Becs Becs_ over there found a new best friend and your position as future maid of honour is dangerously dangling on a thin thread or is it that you are jealous with blondie eye-fucking _Becs Becs_ over there because you are finally developing feelings for the tea-cup sized Queen of the Dark Empire, daughter of Lord Voldemort and ruler of Mordor, the Mountain of Doom?" he asks monotonously with his knuckle underneath his face looking bored. His question however is far from boring as it makes Chloe slowly open her mouth, close it back again before slowly looking at him with an unreadable expression.

"What are you talking about?" she asks quickly, feigning ignorance, before suddenly finding interest in the paper napkins. Unfortunately, she feels Luke's eyes boring holes on her as he slides closer.

"So, the latter," he nods slowly and Chloe instantly protests.

"No!" she yells out loud which makes Beca look her way so she covers it up with a laugh. "I made a mistake… again. Sorry it's just _so_ distracting in here," she says loudly and sighs internally when the blonde hag diverts Beca's attention back to her.

Turning back to Luke and finding amusement in his eyes, Chloe immediately lowers her voice and hisses. "I'm not jealous," she says firmly which earns another skeptical nod from the British owner.

"Your secret is safe with me," he whispers back, placing a hand over her arm gently while she shakes her head several times.

"No, there is no secret. I am not jealous of that…" she pauses to take a glimpse for a second at the laughing whore. "…that woman who can't keep her hands to herself," she grumbles, eyeing the little interaction before stabbing another receipt down the memo spike.

"You're not jealous?" Luke asks and she shakes her head adamantly.

"Nope, jealousy is for immature people and hungry animals or animals in heat," she says with certainty and this time Luke is smiling knowingly.

"Good. Your _Becs Becs_ tends to have this strong magnet on people, mostly women," Luke nods, running his fingers underneath his chin as he gets deep in thought. "Yeah, surprisingly, women are into that sexy mysterious brooding type who acts like they hate everyone and easily make you feel special when they give you even just a piece of their attention. So, I guess I don't really blame all of Beca's women for getting so jealous from time to time," he slaps his palm down at the table at the end of his sentence and moves to leave but is then tugged back forcefully by the sleeve of his shirt.

"Wait, what do you mean by Beca's _women_?" Chloe asks instantly as Luke cries abuse and straightens his shirt.

"That arm of yours has gotten a lot of exercise, as it seems," he says dryly.

"Well, I've only been using this arm so it's twice more exercise and—don't change the subject, Luke!" she points out as he rolls his eyes and gives in.

"Beca is like my _little,_ _tiny_ baby sibling and we have a bro code that I'm not going to break but since you are Beca's only best friend who I believe knows her even better than I do—if you get your memory back, that is—then I guess it's safe," he clears his throat before leaning closer and resting his elbow back on the counter.

"Your _Becs Becs_ has quite a reputation for her one night stands and is a magnet for psychotic-possessive but hot girlfriends and also, gingers" he enumerates with his fingers while Chloe inhales sharply at the last one.

"But you need not to worry because that over there," he motions with his finger towards the blonde who was currently ordering another drink. "That's not going to last. I'll give it about a night," Luke says in a certain tone which only confuses Chloe even more.

Noticing the look of disbelief on her face, the British holds up his hands, "Hey, I won't be saying that if I knew for a fact that, that wasn't true. I've seen it," he assures her as he puts a hand on his chest. "The longest relationship she's ever had was with that pretty blonde girl uhm… Brenda? Brittany? whatever, who looked like that singer uhm—who was that again?" he mumbles, snapping his fingers as he thinks but it is when he tries to lamely hum one of her songs that she _clearly_ gets who he was thinking of.

"I think her name starts with the letter 'C'," Chloe supplies as she sighs.

"Ah right! The one in the accident, Chloe! That hot babe," he sighs dreamily while Chloe shakes her head. He then gets back on topic. "Right, so that girl looked like Chloe Beale, sort of, and they were together for about 5, 6 months," he estimates tilting his palm a bit for emphasis.

"If she wanted Chloe Beale she should've just asked her out on a date and not someone who looks like her," Chloe grumbles and surprisingly hears Luke laugh out loud.

"That's a good one. You should tell her that," he chuckles and Chloe narrows her eyes on him, "I am serious," she says in a low tone and a look which again gets him to stop. At this point, Chloe realizes that Luke and Beca have a lot of similarities which is why they both get along so well. He is like the male version of Beca Mitchell but with a British accent.

"Look," he begins, this time looking more serious than before. "I really don't care if Beca gets to date the hottest celebrity out there. She can have anyone she wants," he says in a sincere tone as he grabs a bear from one of his waiters passing by. "What's more important is, I just hope that Beca finds someone who she can finally open her heart to, someone that will make her realize that she has to stop running away and someone who can get her to see that love isn't just one night of pleasure. It's a lifetime thing and true, it's not always good and it sucks sometimes but there's beauty in it," he finishes before sipping his beer and Chloe slowly smiles at that sentiment.

"As for you, I'd wish the same thing too but who am I kidding? You, among all the people I know, understand love best," he points out his beer towards her and smiles. "Although I can't call you my sister since we had some sort of a short time thing before," he winks and Chloe's smile instantly fades as she stutters.

"D-Did we? Were we, you know—" but she pauses as laughter fills her ears and has her exhaling out loud in frustration.

"That look on your face was priceless, legs! It is so fun messing around with you now," he says in between roars of laughter before walking away from Chloe's piercing glare. At the same time, Flo, who also happens to work as waitress for The Cloud, makes her way over to Chloe to hand another card along with the customer's orders.

"I see Beca's going to be so busy tonight," she comments with a smile, eyeing the blonde female who is currently running her offensive fingers on to Beca's arm and maybe Chloe is thinking of breaking those very fingers at the moment. She's learned a bit about attack moves from Beca a week ago and as mentioned, she is a very fast learner especially when it comes to choreographed moves so imagine what she could do when her other arm recovers. But since she couldn't exactly speed up the healing process tonight she's back to punching down at the screen, swiping cards like she's slicing someone's throat and stabbing receipts down which makes Flo slowly retreat to the kitchen _—"Ay, Dios Mio, we need to call this place the Dark Cloud instead,"_

It is only when Luke passes by once more to drop a plate of sandwich, winking after he tells her to, _"Eat up, you look hungry,"_ does she only stop to realize that maybe it's time to admit it, even though she resents the idea so much.

After 23 years, Chloe Beale is jealous.

Aubrey is definitely not going to believe her if she tells her this.

Despite being known to be generous and giving, everybody must know that one does not just grab her beloved teddy bear out of her arms forcefully and if that happens, Chloe will wage bloody war to get it back.

* * *

A loud noise wakes the young Beca up as she slowly stumbles down her bed and cautiously makes her way down the stairs to hear her parents having an argument. They've been having more arguments lately and every time it happens Beca gets scared. She doesn't want them fighting and wishes that they stop. They do eventually stop as soon as they realize she was standing in a corner.

"Hi, sweetie, come have breakfast," her mother clears her throat as she suddenly busies herself by laying out the plates and the food. Her father on the other hand, drinks a glass of water before walking out. He pats her head as he passes her by and then he's gone. Beca, despite her age, has noticed that recently, his presence in the house is slowly lessening but her mother always says that his work is what's keeping him away these past few days.

Sitting down to eat, Beca munches her breakfast quietly as she watches her mother go back and forth in the kitchen before finally taking her apron off. She reminds her to finish her food before washing up. Her lips curve up into a quick smile which doesn't feel right before heading upstairs to clean up.

Looking around at the empty room, Beca gulps down her food but stops halfway through her breakfast. She doesn't feel hungry anymore. Today's supposed to be her day. She was turning 9 after all but it seems that her parents aren't in good terms or in the mood to celebrate.

Fortunately, her birthday wasn't just about to be thrown into a disaster as her grandmother saves the day by her surprise visit. Armed with a load of gifts that Beca would come to treasure for the rest of her life, her 9th birthday will soon be the best birthday she's ever had throughout her childhood. To Beca, her grandmother is an angel since her presence caused her parents to get along well, or so it seems.

"Okay, now make a wish!" her grandmother excitedly says while her same aged best friends, Alice and Mark beam at her happily.

Clasping her hands together and closing her eyes tight, Beca makes her wish. It was a simple one to be honest. The young Beca never really asks for expensive gifts or grand events. She only asked for one thing, fervently believing that by doing so what she wishes for will happen.

She wished that her parents will be happy together until infinity. If they become happy then finally things can go back to the way they were and in turn she'd be happy.

To be happy together forever.

It was a sentence she would soon detest.

A year later, on the same day, she'd realize how wishes don't come true and promises are made to be broken. That forever is just a word and being happy comes with a price. She'd realize all of that soon enough as she quietly cries inside the closet, hugging her knees to against her chest, with the headphones her grandmother gave her blasting music from his portable CD player over her ears, hoping to block the sound of screams and shouts. She shakes as she hears harsh banging and crashing pieces of chinaware. Shutting her eyes tightly, her tears streaming non-stop. Desperately, she hums out the song so she wouldn't hear anything outside.

Finally, in between sobs, she whispers quietly in the dark, repeating the words over and over again.

" _Together forever doesn't exist,"_

* * *

It's wrong.

Beca knows that very well but shuts out that voice in her head as she places her lips against tender skin. She doesn't even know how it happened, it just did. Perhaps it felt like a better option, drowning the thought of radiating smiles, puppy-eyed looks, comforting hugs and feelings she isn't supposed to feel as she lets her hands roam around the body of the blonde female she is currently in a heated session with. Doing something, anything, keeps her away from thinking about things she can't seem to place and feelings she's never felt before thus, the situation she is in. It was already the end of her shift and somehow she ended up hurriedly dragging and pushing the female, whose name she can't even recall, against the wall at the back of the bar. With an arm encircling around the female to keep her steady, her other grazes her hips travelling upwards until she cups her breast, eliciting a pleasured moan from the female. Her lips are now currently attacking the woman's jaw, her tongue slowly gliding against her skin.

Everything's wrong.

"My car's parked up front," the woman breathily whispers against Beca's ear which makes her stop before pulling away a bit.

"Meet you outside in five," she breathes back, teasingly bringing her lips inches away from the female's but doesn't kiss her as she steps back inside the bar to get her stuff. She hurriedly, enters the kitchen and walks to the area on the left where their lockers are placed. Beca then grabs her bag and jacket before locking it shut and stepping out just as fast towards the bar's glass doors. She gives Luke a distracted wave but before she could even take another step further, a hand grabs on to her arm making her spin around and come face to face with none other than her best friend's concerned eyes.

"Becs, we need to talk," Stacie tells her in a tone that Beca knows meant she won't be accepting no as an answer. But it has to wait. Beca isn't ready for this.

Maybe she'll never be.

"Can't, Stace. Sorry, got to go. You and Flo go ahead without me," she says quickly and the hurt look on her best friend's eyes has her feeling sick but she ignores this. Pulling away, she's just about to turn around and go her way when she feels the grip on her arm tighten. This time she is yanked back but before she could irritably throw out an angry _"What the hell?"_ her best friend beats her to it.

"Tell me, did I do something wrong, Becs?" Stacie's voice rises up, the negative tension visibly felt in the whole room that it made Luke quietly slip away to the kitchen and Flo, who was standing behind Stacie, lowly muttering that she'd be waiting outside before shaking her head.

"No, Stace. Nothing's wrong," Beca counters but she barely finishes her sentence when Stacie speaks up.

"Oh yeah, there's totes nothing wrong! Which is why you kept avoiding me all day like I've destroyed your guitar. You're not even giving me a chance to talk to you like suddenly I'm this stranger your mother warned you about and that slut you are going home with isn't going to solve any of your problems," she sarcastically exclaims and Beca knows deep down that she was indeed guilty for acting so. Stacie had actually struck a nerve. Would she admit all of it though?

That's highly unlikely.

"You want to know what's wrong here?" she spits out, doing what she does best whenever she is backed up in a corner and has nowhere to escape to, bite back, and hard. Maybe she didn't intended to do so but her emotions took over and usually it never does any good.

"You, having to butt in everything I do!" she blurts out.

"What's that supposed to mean?" her best friend frowns, looking at her in utter disbelief.

"It means what it means!" she almost screams out loud. "And news flash, not everything revolves around you!"

"Oh there it is! So I'm what's wrong then! I'm the problem!" Stacie elaborates with a wide hand gesture. "I'm sorry if I'm making your life hell right now. At least I never lie in front of your face and pretend to be okay with everything when deep down you're not!"

"Oh I'm sorry if that bothers you! Yeah that's _totes_ how I deal with things! Sorry that you had to find out this way! I'm not as perfect as you believe me to be! And I'm so sorry to tell you but the truth is, I'll keep disappointing not only you but the whole world so stop expecting too much!" she yells out, her words exploding by the second without stopping.

"Well, I'm not perfect either Beca! Nobody is! I never asked for perfect but you don't have to be such a huge ass by hiding underneath that stupid excuse and hurt people just to make a point!"

"You know what?" she smiles sarcastically before running a hand through her hair. "I don't care," she mutters before turning around to leave.

"If you step out that door then it means that this friendship is nothing to you," Stacie's low and unstable voice stops her in her tracks. She may not be facing her but she could already feel the tears starting to fall down the taller female's eyes.

Her grip on the door's handle tightens as her heart cries out painfully, wanting to turn back.

But her mind is too far gone. Too blind. Too numb to feel.

And her feet are moving out the door before she could even register anything that has happened. She heads to the direction of the waiting car and soon rides off, leaving the one person who matters most to her.

"What took you so long?"

Beca almost doesn't hear the question as she looks blankly out to the streets. Unconsciously, she takes out her pack of cigarettes, taking a stick. "Hope you don't mind," she mumbles as the blonde female shakes her head before taking out a lighter and flicking it open for Beca to light her cigarette.

Breathing the hazy smoke out of the open window, she leans her head onto the side, eyes still glued to the city's night life. It was only when she feels a hand on her thigh that she realizes where she is, in front of an upper class apartment building. Fingers, turn her head to the left and then she feels lips against her own but when she closes her eyes, an image of a beautiful sunrise glow next to pleasant warmth at the back of a truck and a song that keeps repeating in her head makes her pull away.

"I'm sorry. I can't,"

She doesn't get a clear grasp of what is happening, only that she is out of the car, walking and for god knows how long, her cigarette has long been gone and she figures she needs more. Lighting up another stick, she finally stops and leans her back against the pillars of a club, running her shaky fingers across her hair and grasping a clump of it with her eyes down on the ground. It doesn't take long until small wet drops of water fall down but it wasn't raining and soon she realizes where they were coming from, her knuckles slowly brushing on her damp cheeks.

Seconds later, she enters a taxi hurriedly, reciting the address she has called home these past few years while she anxiously fidgets on her seat.

"What the hell were you thinking?" she softly mutters to herself, wanting to hit something but can't.

Shoving cash carelessly at the cab driver, she runs up the flight of stairs only to stop at the door. It was too silent and all she could hear was the loud beating of her heart. Sniffing, she finally enters the key into the knob before turning it open. The first thing she sees is darkness. She steps inside to inhale the familiar scent of lavender. Without even thinking the first place she enters is her room. It's already _their_ room if she were to base it on the number of nights they spent lying down together on her bed talking about the most mundane things. But her heart sinks as she finds it empty and untouched. The other room, Stacie's, had also been empty and at this point, panic settles inside of her.

Rushing back outside, she bumps into Flo who was just making her way down to her.

"Is she with you?" she asks in all urgency but when Flo's face falls at the question, Beca's mind races into a million horrible scenarios that she almost doesn't hear Flo talking to her.

"She said she'd just go and get some air, Beca. I was so worried so I came to check if she has returned. She seemed so depressed after you guys talked. I…" Flo hasn't even finished her sentence when Beca finds herself running back down the stairs. Her mind was so occupied that she almost loses her footing by the time she reaches the first floor.

Frantically, she dashes out to the streets, not really having a destination in mind, only that she needed to find her. She must have been going in circles around the neighbourhood, her lungs burning up and her legs protesting from the sudden exertion of too much energy. It was only when her peripheral catches sight of a nearby 24/7 convenience store across the street that she almost laughs for not even thinking of the one place where she'd be certain to find her.

Her best friend sat in one of the small tables outside the store, eating what is probably her thousandth ice-cream as she silently wipes her tears like a lost and abandoned child. The sight makes Beca's heart twist in a tight knot. The sight she was seeing was adorable in a way but at the same time painful to watch. Weirdly, if this were a month ago, she'd doubt this person was her best friend. Stacie can do adorable but certainly not as well and natural as this. Slowly, she makes her way towards the direction of the store before stopping at the pedestrian's red light. The seconds honestly felt like hours, her eyes never leaving sight of her. And because of the insanely strong connection she feels they have, her best friend looks up to meet her gaze. Unable to help herself, she immediately mouths out, "I'm sorry," which brings more tears from the taller brunette and as the light turns green Beca almost sprints to cross the street. In seconds her body crashes into another as she instantly wraps her arms around Stacie.

"I didn't mean it. I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me," she bursts out quickly, her vision getting blurry at the onslaught of emotions as she inhales in the scent of Stacie's shampoo.

"I'm sorry too, Becs. I… don't like fighting with you. I hate it," she hears her best friend say in between sobs, Beca could feel Stacie's nails digging hard on her jacket, both of them afraid to let go of each other.

"We're both idiots," Stacie mumbles as Beca lets out a laugh. They finally come apart after a few minutes and laughing at each other. Anyone who'd seen them would easily give them weird looks and call them crazy but none of that matters.

"Wow," Beca lets out as she eyes the numerous plastic containers of ice-cream lying all over the table, some of it down on the ground.

"I eat ice-cream when I'm sad," her best friend admits, scratching her head while smiling sheepishly.

"Yeah I can see that," Beca smirks before getting serious once more.

There was something she needed to confess, something that she needs to say tonight. Somehow, it just felt like the right moment. Yet as she opens her lips to say her friend's name, Stacie does exactly the same.

"You go first," they both blurt out at the same time as well and a blanket of awkwardness starts covering them both. In fact, this night is probably the first time she's ever felt awkward around her best friend. Inhaling a bit of courage, Beca finally begins, her heart beating at such a fast and loud rhythm that she thinks Stacie must be hearing it.

"The thing is… earlier I just—Well, I suck at this," she exhales, letting out a nervous chuckle as she feels her best friend's eyes looking at her with much anticipation. Sucking in another deep breathe, Beca throws finally decides to throw everything out the window.

"Stace, to be honest, I don't know how or why but I think… no, I'm certain that I may have feelings—"

Her words cut short as she feels sudden weight on her arm and when she looks up in surprise, she finds her best friend clutching on to her chest, her face contorting into pain.

"Stace? What's wrong?" she immediately asks in alarm. The scene looked so familiar and Beca fears it's happening again.

"Becs," her best friend struggles to say, her head resting on Beca's shoulder as Beca firmly holds on to her.

"I need to tell you something," she hears Stacie say and she was quick to hush her down.

"I'll call an ambulance, hang tight, okay?" Beca says, her voice laced with panic as she fumbles for her phone but stops as she feels Stacie's grip on her arm tightening.

"What I said to you earlier, made me think," she coughs out and Beca could feel her heaving. "I wasn't honest with you either,"

"Stace what are you—"

"I-I've been lying to you all this time. I-I'm so sorry," Stacie continues on with a sob despite how hard it seems as she pauses in between words. Her weight grows heavier as her legs start to give way and Beca thinks she can't hold on to her for so long. Struggling to grab on to a chair nearby, she slowly moves Stacie towards it and slowly sits her down. However, the taller brunette refuses to let her go and call for help.

"Becs, listen to me, I don't know if I'll wake up next to you this time so I want to say this now before it's too late," her words only confuse Beca even more as she kneels down to meet her in the eye.

"Stacie, you are going to wake up and I'll be there. Now, we got to get you to the hospi—"

"I had been wanting to see you again ever since that day we first met two years ago at that restroom," Stacie tells her through the tears and the visible pain she is feeling every time she clutches her chest. But her words felt so foreign to Beca's ears that nothing is making sense.

"I even went to look for you at the radio station," Beca is now frowning, too confused to even say anything. They met thirteen years ago at the neighbourhood they both grew up in and applied for a job at the radio station at the same time.

"Stace, I don't understand—"

"You were always in the back of my mind," her best friend continues on, her hands now cupping Beca's face while her tears stream down her face.

"And now I finally found you, Becs," Stacie smiles. "I just wanted you to know, how thankful I was that you came at the time when I felt the worst. I've always hated… being left behind," Stacie sobs and Beca feels her fingertips tracing something on her face, she then realizes that for some reason, she was drawing a star near her eye.

"So I cried a lot of nights, climbed on that ladder you told me to climb and I made sure I dazzled so brightly despite the pain so I can show them that whatever they do wrong to me, I won't budge,"

Her words froze Beca to her spot, emerald green eyes staring hard into her deep blue's. Those very words came from her. It was at that moment that she remembered saying them to a gorgeous bright blue-eyed redhead two years ago at a restroom of the Love Sound Music Festival event. Stacie would've never guessed that. She wasn't with her when it happened. Beca never even told her of that little detail. She hadn't went into the specifics just that she was there to comfort a broken-hearted superstar.

That's just impossible.

 _What's going on?_

"The thing you gave me…" Stacie words falter as Beca observes her almost losing consciousness and that prompts her to finally fumble for her phone, dialling 911. "…the bandana… still with me," she whispers as Beca looks back at her once more, her jaw slackening at what she was hearing.

The line on the other end picks up and she momentarily blanks out before remembering what she had to do. She distractedly gives the details and the street they were at, her eyes darting back and forth to a random object then towards her best friend.

"Becs. I'm…" Stacie goes on, her hands grasping on to her jacket as Beca keeps her steady.

"I'm not Stacie Conrad," she finally says and Beca's eyes finally focus solely on hers, not knowing that the last words her best friend says next would leave her in a state of disbelief and shock, her phone slipping off her fingers and dropping down the ground.

"I'm Chloe Beale,"

* * *

 **A/N: No comment. No spoilers. Not when we are just so close to the en- nope just gonna sip some tea and look outside, thoughts only filled with Bechloe.**

 **Happy to see a Kendrick update today. So happy she won. Also happy to see Snow in Chrissie Fit's mini-series. Yay! Sendrick winning in life.**

 **Thank you to all those who followed, favorited, commented/reviewed this fic. Your comments are hilarious and heartwarming.**


	13. Be Together

**Chapter 13**

 **Be Together**

Everything was a blur.

Stacie had been rushed in to the emergency room as Beca leans on to the cream coloured walls of the hospital before sinking down. There where chairs available to waiting relatives and friends but there just wasn't any energy left on her legs to even crawl on to one as she blankly stares into space. Her mind lost to the scenes that had happened just minutes ago. More importantly, the mind-blowing words her ears weren't prepared to hear.

Chloe.

That name had always done a great deal to her heart and well, her sanity. A crease forms in Beca's forehead and she slowly shakes her head at the impossibility of the situation brought upon her. It's like one big joke. But then Stacie doesn't take jokes too far. Dares, yes. Jokes, only when it's something relevant to sex, maybe. But this, this was too much even for her unconventional best friend.

On the other hand, not acknowledging the fact that it could be a joke would then mean that her best friend could have gone into some sort of delusional phase—hopefully just a phase—caused by that terrible accident weeks ago. Because there's just no way that this could be real. No way at all. Beca doesn't believe it. It's too impossible. It's like those stories you only read in novels and see in movies. None of those are real which means none of what she just heard was real.

None of it.

Or?

With a shudder, Beca's hands come up to hold her head before sliding them back through her hair and clutching on to her nape. She looks around with a lost look. It was only at that moment when she realizes what hospital they landed on to. Maybe the universe is playing a joke on her. This hospital had been on the news so many times due to the fact that a famous female celebrity was admitted in it and is currently still in a coma, much to the sadness of all her family, friends and fans. The very female that is currently causing her a huge headache.

"Stacie Conrad?" a nurse calls out and it takes almost five seconds before Beca clumsily picks herself up from the floor.

"I'm family," she immediately says before being led into the room where her best friend now lay unconscious. As Beca had anticipated, the doctors had found nothing whatsoever that has caused or triggered Stacie's 'episode' earlier. Beca doesn't even know what to call it. Right now, her best friend was to be put under observation and this time, Beca isn't thinking of running off to the sunset. Whatever side-effects Stacie is experiencing has to stop and she's not leaving without an answer.

But like everything in Beca's life, unfortunately, instead of an answer she just got a ton more of questions nobody can answer.

It started with a small groan which instantly gets Beca up her feet. Hesitantly, she walks closer to the bed where her best friend lays. Stacie starts to stir slowly and within a few moments her eyes finally open. Beca watches silently, unsure of what to even expect. Whether she likes it or not, some very small part of her does believe that maybe those words she heard made some sense.

"Hey," Beca gently says as Stacie's eyes finally settle on her. The taller brunette, looked like she woke up with a hangover as she squints and slowly tries to open her eyes more. Much to Beca's confusion, Stacie reaches out to her before poking her arm with her forefinger and asking, "Are you real?"

The question wasn't what she was expecting but after a few blinks, she realizes that she was being serious.

"Yes? I'm human and so are you, we live in this wasteland called Earth and we eat garbage to survive," she answers which makes her best friend smile.

"Okay, cool. Just checking. I was afraid they might have injected me with those stuff that could make me feel like I'm stuck flying in space or somewhere lucid where beautiful blonde green-eyed mermaids swim, whispering enticing words at me and caressing me with their soft touches. It's like one of those sweet scented and highly confusing illusions," Stacie mumbles as Beca opens her mouth to say something, anything, but finds no appropriate response to that.

 _Blonde mermaids?_

"How long was I out?" Stacie asks, looking around the room and before Beca could answer, her best friend lets out a pained reaction, "Ow! Fuck! What the—you gotta' be shittin' me," Stacie exclaims, looking at her arm in a cast with disbelief. At this point Beca's frown deepens.

"You fractured your elbow, Stace, remember?" Beca slowly supplies for her as she sits by the side of the bed. "And you were unconscious for about two hours, I guess. I really wasn't checking," she adds, looking around for a clock.

"I just woke up, dummy. How am I supposed to know what I broke? Isn't that your job?" Stacie retorts, her lips curving up on one side as she eyes Beca who is currently at a loss. There's something different yet she couldn't place what it was exactly. What bothers her the most is that heavy feeling in her chest, like she lost something so dear to her. But before she could try to make sense of what, Stacie's voice cuts her thoughts short.

"So, be honest," she says, clearing her throat as Beca opens the bottled water she bought earlier for her. "My attending doctor, hot or not?" Stacie asks, an eyebrow arching up as Beca pauses, water bottle mid-open in her hands.

She gives her best friend a look as Stacie immediately reacts, "Oh c'mon at least I get to make this rare trip to the hospital worthwhile! So, tell me," Stacie insists, looking at her expectantly before flinching at her sudden move to stand up. Puzzled eyes follow her, as she paces back and forth, wringing her hands as she does so until she suddenly stops, turning her body towards her best friend.

"Wait, do you remember… everything?" Beca asks.

"Uhm yeah? I mean, this would've been such a great night if it weren't for our bus going Fast and the Furious on us. See, this is what happens when you try to cut our fun short. I was just about to make a move on gorgeous blondie by the bar—"

"Hold up for a sec, are you talking about—Stace, that was—" Beca stops short as she looks into her best friend's clueless expression which only meant one thing.

"You don't remember anything that happened the past few weeks?" she asks and it doesn't take a genius to figure it out. With the confusion written on Stacie's face that is then followed by a description of their activities a week before the accident. To Beca, it feels like the past two weeks was some sort of a sweet dream and now she is harshly woken up from that.

"Stacie," Beca starts, her own voice sounding distant to her. "That happened weeks ago…," she trails off as Stacie pauses, looking into her eyes as if waiting for Beca to makes some kind of sarcastic remark or a, _'Just kidding. Got ya!'_ but it doesn't come.

"What do you mean?" comes the expected answer and Beca's throat tightens.

"I want to try something for a second, just bear with me," she slowly says and with that Beca proceeds to lean down and hug her best friend.

It feels… different.

Beca could tell. Something changed, her own heart was beating normally, none of that erratic, fireworks exploding sort of highly addicting feeling. It's just gone.

"Shit. It's the end of the world isn't it? I woke up to the apocalypse! Call the hot doctor I'm in need of a private check-up. How much time do we have left? Or—did somebody die? Is it someone from the fifth floor? That floor is totally cursed," Stacie mutters and that is enough for Beca to release her, eyeing her in astonishment.

"Oh no, you've hit your head too hard, didn't you?" Stacie states, reaching out to touch her forehead with Beca quickly slapping her hand away.

"No! It's not—whatever. I'm gonna' go grab some snacks," Beca brushes off as she heads out of the room and before she closes the door, Stacie's voice calls out to her from behind, "Don't forget to tell the hot doctor that I'm in _need_ of immediate _medical attention_!"

Beca rolls her eyes at what she hears before shutting the door behind her and walking off to look for food. Reaching the cafeteria downstairs, Beca almost forgets that they've been brought to, if not the most, one of the top hospitals in Los Angeles which means her bills are going to make her cry blood later. Stuck in between deciding whether or not to go out and find food, her eyes are suddenly assaulted with a sudden flashing light. Following the direction of the annoying flashes, her face falls into shock as she sees a bunch of photographers and reporters circling near the entrance while interviewing someone who was most probably, important.

Curious, she walks near one of the staff who seems to be taking a break from a shift. Nodding her head over at the direction of the commotion, she begins to ask, "What's going on?"

The medical employee who seemed to be a nurse looks at her then back at the small crowd outside, her answer was something that would make Beca's world stop.

"It's Chloe Beale, she's finally awake,"

The words have Beca stunned for a few moments before looking up at the hospital's logo and name, the very hospital that she had seen on the TV countless times now. If she had been worrying about her heart's lack of enthusiasm earlier, she certainly had no need to worry right now because this time her heart has just cartwheeled to Mars and back.

"This is stupid," Beca mutters to herself as she continues pacing in circles in front of hospital's entrance to the VIP suites. She'd been in fact hanging around the floor where Chloe is supposedly admitted in. Of course, she only had to find out by listening to one of the media men who was plotting ways on how to get a juicy scoop. It actually made her want to punch the pesky bird looking guy for being so insensitive. They are talking about making a money out of Chloe's photos without even thinking of the situation the girl was currently in. The woman had just suffered a traumatic accident and is still recovering for god's sake and all they want to do is take her photo to show to the world!

Throwing away the angry thoughts building up inside her, Beca stares at the glass doors of the VIP suites before exhaling loudly and turning back around. She didn't even know why she wanted to see her. There wasn't even a reason for her to do so and she didn't want to be like one of those annoying reporters, trailing around their prey like a bunch of hungry hyenas.

The fact is, Chloe Beale has no business with her.

"Hi," Beca says as the woman in the concierge looks up at her. "I'm here for a patient," she continues, looking around for a second before bringing her attention back to the woman who immediately replies, "Name of patient please,"

Beca breathes in but hesitates, the name hanging just at the tip of her tongue. Her dry lips move slightly to form the words but the thought sinks in and soon another internal war wages inside her head.

"Ma'am?" the woman tries again and this time Beca has made a decision.

"I-I'm sorry. I made a mistake," Beca says instead, backing away slowly. "I-I shouldn't be here—I'm so sorry," she mumbles awkwardly, her eyes looking down the expensively tiled floor before turning around to leave, her footsteps, heavy with every step she takes further away from the place. Even her heart is being pulled down by some force of gravity and she can't seem to figure just why so.

She thinks it's probably because it's 4 in the morning and she's pulled another up-all-night-till-the-break-of-dawn moment that her body is now feeling the side-effects of lacking sleep.

But the thing is, she'd soon realize how wrong she was because as weeks passed, the heaviness in her chest only seemed to grow heavier by time.

"Rise and shine, sleepyhead! Work isn't going to wait for us," Stacie's voice breaks Beca's sleep as she sluggishly sits up. She could hear Stacie loudly rummaging through her locker at the next room just like any other normal day.

Rubbing her eyes, Beca swings her legs until her feet feel the floor. She doesn't know how long she has spaced out but Stacie's knocking gets her back to her senses. "Dude, if you aren't out here in a minute, I'm certainly leaving without you! You know how I hate being late," Stacie grumbles from outside as Beca hears footsteps going back and forth around the kitchen.

It's been a month and a week since Beca had walked away from that concierge in the hospital. As expected, Stacie had tons of questions ever since then and being in no mood at all to talk about it, Beca had lamely explained things, leaving out the part where they took the best road trip Beca ever had so far and some other 'intimate' things like sleeping next to each other. It feels weird to even think about it now. It's like it never even happened. Even those strange gooey feelings she had been feeling had dissipated like bubbles popping out in the air. She should be happy actually, Stacie, who has finally fully recovered from her injury and has both arms working, was back to her old self. That talk they had with Stacie's parents was enough proof that her best friend is finally back to normal. Not to mention, her best friend was back to being her flirty ways ever since then and Beca finds she doesn't care at all. But still, she felt hollow and no matter what she did, nothing could fill up that emptiness.

Walking out, she begins to start her day. Rushing to the radio station in the morning and working her ass off at the bar, Beca continues to function on auto-pilot which unknowingly to her, makes her friends worry. Even her singing and music playing has been a little lifeless these days and she's found herself staring far away more often than not.

A week ago, Fat Amy had thrown a party for the lame reason of celebrating some country's holiday, if she remembered correctly, the loud Australian said it had something to do with cheese and proceeded to pull Beca to attend, literally. She had been in her room all day, rolled up underneath what looks like a pillow fort she built, and before she could even register what was happening, Fat Amy comes barging in, along with Stacie, Flo and Cynthia-Rose who all pulled her out of bed like a dead body being delivered to forensics. In short, she got totally wasted that night with cheese smeared all over her face.

Then there was Jessie's incessant Tumblr-esque messages of positive life quotes and motivating phrases for her. The message count has currently exceeded one hundred which is why Beca shut off her phone but then again to her surprise, Jessie, Benji, with Stacie's help, barge into the apartment and carried her like luggage off from the comfort of her sofa to some rock concert. She got wasted that night as well.

Of course, Jessica and Ashley also got involved and joined the 'Make Beca Human Again' foundation. The inseparable best friends had barged in her apartment as well, again with Stacie's help, and dragged her by both her arms like a convicted felon to some food festival just to get her to eat more. She got food drunk from that event and fried chicken was surely the main culprit.

But to top all that, the most bizarre of all the times she's been forced out of her apartment would be when Lilly barged into the bathroom while she was peeing, much to her horror, looking at her with those huge goggle eyes boring into her soul. This time, Beca didn't have to be dragged, pulled out or carried by anyone as she herself willingly followed the weird Asian out of her apartment. She is certainly not going to have to wait for Lilly to do some out of this world method to get her out because surely it's yet again something crazy like a giant Godzilla crane barging from the window. As expected, Lilly took her haunted house hopping, like bar hopping but haunted houses. Yes, she didn't get drunk. She got high with weed instead and this time, the hobos living in those abandoned haunted houses are to blame. Although, she did remember that in the middle of being high, Lilly did say something weird to her about seeing her heart's desire soon which didn't make any sense at all.

She doesn't even know what her heart desires. Right?

"Chloe Beale,"

The second the name passes Beca's ears she rushes out from her room to dive and tackle the remote control out of an astounded Stacie's grasp, her best friend falling unglamorously off the sofa as Beca switches back to the entertainment channel and raises up the volume.

"Do you want to die, Mitchell?" Stacie angrily responds as she picks herself off the floor but doesn't say another word as Beca looks at the television fixatedly.

"She's recovering fast," Stacie finally muses.

Chloe had indeed been in her way to recovery. Beca watches as she sees the famous redhead head out of the hospital in a wheelchair. Apparently, the beautiful celebrity has been coming out from her scheduled physical therapy. With the help of a crutch and a medical assistant, the redhead gets in her car, ignoring the media by not even giving a single smile, her head down and her eyes hidden behind black sunglasses. Her manager and mother trailed behind her without any comments either.

"She hates it," Beca finds herself say as Stacie hums a response.

"Can't they tell that she doesn't want them around? They are making her feel uncomfortable," Beca says again, feeling protective all of a sudden for some reason.

"Fuck, why won't those assholes quit it?" this time her tone rises and Stacie, who seemed to have sensed the aggressive tension, looks at her carefully.

"Woah, chill out, dude. What's gotten into you?" she asks, her tone dipped with concern.

"I just—nobody deserves to be constantly harassed by those lowlifes. That's all," Beca says, her voice now dropping down into a soft murmur before standing up to grab some ice-cream in the fridge and lock herself in the room again, leaving an even more puzzled Stacie.

Back inside her room, Beca slumps down the floor with her back against the door. Slowly, she opens the lid of the ice-cream tub before digging in with her spoon and eating it. As the dark chocolate flavour touches her mouth her memory returns to that night when she came home late to a worried Stacie before switching to the night in front of the convenience store where everything… happened.

" _Becs, listen to me, I don't know if I'll wake up next to you this time so I want to say this now before it's too late,"_

Tightly shutting her eyes closed, Beca urges her thoughts to stop and think of something else. Exhaling, she finally opens her eyes but when her gaze lingers on her bed, another set of memories force their way in her mind.

" _And you're perfect. To me you are,"_

Tearing her eyes away from her bed, she bumps her head backwards against the wood gently, willing it all to go away.

" _I'd never leave you, dummy,"_

"What's wrong with me?" she whispers miserably before realizing how tight her grip on the spoon was, the thin piece of metal leaving a red mark on her palm.

" _How do you feel about bright flashing camera lights?"_

"It's impossible," she breathes out softly as if convincing herself that it was so, shaking her head several times. But then as soon as she takes in another scoop of ice-cream, one by one tears slide down her cheeks. She doesn't even know why she's so emotional. Maybe it was depression, who knows? Whatever it is, it's not a good thing. It just feels like she's ten years old all over again, falling off from paradise and being abandoned by the people she loved.

" _You're important to me,"_

The tears continue to fall, the ice-cream tub already sitting on the floor next to her as she clamps her mouth with the palm of her hand to silence the sobs threatening to escape her lips.

"… _you were always in the back of my mind,"_

She sniffs as a barrage of memories invade her thoughts like an unstoppable train at full speed. The breaks are broken and after almost 6 weeks of holding back it's finally crashed.

Maybe she still doesn't want to specify the main cause of it all but Beca had never been this devastated, her heart breaking into a million pieces all because of something that may not even be real. Something that has made her heart happy for the first time in a long time only to end up being an illusion. It left her wanting more but with no chance of grasping on to it ever again. It was painful and everything she never wanted to feel again. It's like reaching out for air. The point is, she experienced one of the sweetest dreams before being brutally woken up to a harsh reality, that it was just that, a dream.

" _I'm Chloe Beale,"_

* * *

Another month passes by and fortunately Beca seems to find herself easing back into her weird, normal pace of life. After that night of tears, she had woken up feeling much lighter. Having unloaded something she carried for weeks, she is finally feeling much better. It's still far from peaceful with Stacie and the gang around, especially when alcohol is involved but it was all fun. She and Stacie are doing more music gigs recently which got her busy, busy enough not to find herself thinking of unnecessary things. Also, because of the steady flow of invites to singing gigs, they finally got a new car. On the other hand, summer is around the corner as well and Flo is currently planning a summer trip with Fat Amy. Wherever that would be, Beca only prays that it's not going to be a repeat of last time where they ended up with allergies—literally everyone was scratching themselves, someone almost drowning—it was Jessie—and a messy riot over a huge piñata in the shape of male genitals—Stacie and Fat Amy's idea.

So there's that.

It's another bright sunny day and as usual, her best friend is pushing her lazy ass around to work, more passionately than usual though. Jogging up to the radio station from the parking lot, they finally got down to business. Currently, Beca is tasked to find new material for tomorrow's radio show. There is a new segment and she's got to cook up a bunch of new ideas before the end of the day. Getting comfortable in her own cubicle at a far corner of the room, she proceeds to browse the internet for top trends she could add in the new segment. However, as soon as the latest news pours in front of her, her fingers stay still for a full minute as she reads the words on the computer.

Chloe Beale has just released another single for her upcoming album for the first time since the accident.

The singer is collaborating with The Chainsmokers this time and the single has already had more than a million hits in all music sites just hours after its release. It's even trending in the number one spot of all social media. Unable to stop herself, Beca clicks on one of the articles. It read that the inspiration for the single, 'Together Forever' had been inspired by the recent incidents that the popular singer has experienced, the huge accident, her new outlook in life and a change of perspective. But then, it was somewhere at the bottom of the article that has Beca's full attention, the article states that Chloe Beale has hinted that the song was also about someone special in her life right now. It was only then that Beca had unconsciously clicked on more articles about the famous singer-actress. Rumours of Chloe Beale's secret lover had been swimming around social media for weeks now which, Beca had only found out until now due to being busy with work and the gigs. Grabbing her earphones, she then proceeds to listen to the single all the while reading more about this mysterious guy Chloe is pining over. The song had such a catchy melody, one that Beca could play over a million times until she gets sick of it.

There are actually some things she got from the song, this person has intense deep blue eyes underneath long eyelashes one can get lost in, soft dark brown hair you'd love to run your fingers through, cold hands that grow warm after a while and a really sexy smirk that makes her heart skip a beat. Based on those very specific descriptions, Beca thinks it's no wonder why Chloe is being suspected of being in love at the moment.

"That lucky bastard," Beca mutters before sighing heavily. She does hope that this guy wasn't like that Sean who broke up with her over the phone. Based on the lyric's descriptions of what this special person has taught and done to her, Beca believes this guy is already way better than the last one. Like this part about teaching her to let go of everything that's held her back and to just enjoy the simple moments in life without having to think too much.

"Yup, that one's true," Beca agrees as she listens to the line being sung in the song. The lyrics goes on to singing about never leaving that person's side with the promise of being together forever. That part has Beca a little bit thrown into a swirling pit of emotions as she stills and listens to Chloe's beautiful voice. Her heart beats to that insane rhythm as she slowly gets lost in thought.

"Together forever, huh," she mumbles softly, a sudden wave of sadness creeping inside her. Once she realizes her mood dampening, Beca shakes her head before rubbing her temples. It was a silly thought. She needs to get a grip by reminding herself to stop dwelling of the things that happened yesterday and focus on the present, focus on reality.

Unbeknownst to her, she'd been so deeply affected by it that she fails to hear Stacie call out her name the first few times. When her best friend yells out from behind, this time it finally catches Beca's attention. Waving her hand dismissively, she replies distractedly, all the while, her eyes still remained glued to the monitor with new photos of Chloe Beale who is now walking on the street without a crutch.

"I'm busy, just leave whatever there,"

Chloe looked much better now that she can walk on her own two feet. The famous redhead had been spotted walking in front of a coffee shop just a couple of minutes ago. She seemed to be keeping a low profile as she wears a black cap, a long black jacket over her white top and blue knee ripped high rise jeans. Thanks to technology, news travels fast indeed. Despite the simple, laid back style, Beca still finds the redhead stunning.

"Fine, I'm leaving _it_ here then," Stacie calls out with a hint of frustration and Beca throws a thumbs up in the air. Seconds later, a warm coffee cup is placed on Beca's table from behind. She mumbles a quick thanks but then the moment she does, she realizes that Stacie was standing behind her and has certainly caught her looking at Chloe's photos—again. Adrenaline shoots up her system and her fingers quickly press the close button much to her embarrassment that all she could do now is cough up a lame excuse.

"It's for research, okay? For the new segment and some stuff—now if you say a word I will shave off your eyebrows while you sleep so leave me alone," she quickly rushes out her words, cheeks heating up as she busies herself with the papers in front of her, earnestly hoping that her best friend won't start parading around the room with a huge banner that says she's been caught looking at Chloe's photos again.

"And thanks for the coffee," She adds before taking a quick sip and humming contentedly at the delicious warm liquid hitting her tongue.

It's sure to give her the much needed energy for the whole morning. Actually it was so delicious, Beca doesn't think it even tastes like her usual black coffee from their pantry. Looking at the cup's logo, her suspicions are proved true when it turns out, it's actually from one of those expensive cafes but before she could even fully turn around to ask if her best friend seduced a barista this time, a familiar addicting scent of perfume Beca has inhaled two years ago fills her lungs, soft red wavy locks falling near her shoulder and an unexpected response beats her to it.

"No problem, Becs. Love my new song?"

* * *

 **A/N: Since you guys love cliffhangers so much. Here, have some more! And that's all I can say because if I type something more I'm going to spill... coffee on my jeans.**

 **All these Kendrick updates are heaven. Somebody needs to get Snow out btw. What I'm saying is, Kendrick needs to take Snow out *wink wink***

 **Thank you to all those who followed, favorited and commented/reviewed! It shocked me to see how many responded to the last chapter. The notifications literally woke me up so thank you for that, you adorable little assholes.**


	14. Safety

**Chapter 14**

 **Safety**

She lost Beca.

The minute Chloe opens her eyes she already knew what she lost, someone dear and important to her. It was like being forcibly grabbed far away from the safety and comfort of Beca's arms and propelled back into her own world. That's probably how it happened exactly but does it even matter now? Everything hurts which was why tears immediately form into blurry pools in the corner of her eyes before flowing down freely on her face. Her whole body was in pain, her heart was aching twice as much and her mind stuck to the face she held in her hands just hours ago. She was such a mess that Aubrey had panicked at one point by screaming at the nurse, thinking that she was in unmeasurable amount of pain which wasn't exactly far from the truth. Her heart was in so much agony. This wasn't how she wanted to come back. She wasn't ready yet. She needed more time.

There was still a lot more things she needed to tell Beca, things she desperately wanted to say.

"I can't feel my leg, Bree. Why can't I feel my leg?" her voice croaks in obvious distress as she looks at her troubled best friend. The blonde seemed to be choosing her words carefully especially in the state she was in.

"Chlo, your leg's fine. The doctors did surgery on it weeks ago so you won't be able to walk in it for a while. Plus, you've been in a coma, your muscles haven't moved for weeks, it'll take time and there's no need to rush," Aubrey gently explains as best as she can but Chloe doesn't have time to spare, she needed to go.

She left Beca so abruptly. The poor girl must be so confused.

"I have to be somewhere," Chloe says as she struggles to move only to have Aubrey firmly place a hand on her chest to stop her from doing so.

"Chlo, you need to rest. Everything's been taken care of. All you need to do now is to focus on recovering—"

"Bree, I really have to go, now. I need to go find, Beca," Chloe insists before trying to sit up again only to fail. Aubrey immediately helps her lay back more comfortably before finally bringing up that name her best friend must be so curious about.

"Chloe, please stop. And I can't help you until you tell me about this Beca first. Who is this girl you keep looking for?" she finally exhales and this time Chloe ceases all her movements as she closes her eyes before opening them again to look at her worried friend.

"She's… someone I deeply care about," Chloe admits as tears start form in her eyes once more.

"Okay, I—where is she then? Because for the duration of your stay here, nobody with that name came to visit you," Aubrey points out as she looks back at Chloe. Sighing, Chloe knew she was just about to tell Aubrey a huge secret. If she were to choose someone to be on her side for something this big—also very insane and absurd—she'd only have one person in mind and that's the woman in front of her right now.

"Aubrey, I'm about to tell you something that requires you to have an open mind," she begins as she watches her friend nod ever so slowly while staring at her with cautious look on her face.

"I… I'll try," she replies before adding, "Is there a 'Stacie' somewhere in that story too?" she suddenly asks as Chloe's eyes widen at the mention of the name.

"You know Stacie Conrad?!" she immediately asks, her voice full of life this time, earning a lost look from Aubrey.

"You got to be kidding—who in the world are these women?" Aubrey groans in frustration as Chloe's body deflates at how hard this honesty thing is going to be.

This is going to be one long talk.

 _Here goes nothing_

Okay, so maybe it didn't turn out well as expected. Chloe had the misfortune of watching about a thousand different expressions coming out from Aubrey in just a matter of minutes.

After what feels like an eternity of unbearable silence as she tells her whole rollercoaster experience story, at first there was the 'Ha. Ha. Ha—no seriously, tell me' dead serious expression, then came the 'What? How? That's not possible! What?!" unbelieving expression, followed by the 'I just don't understand anymore' clueless expression, then comes the expected and teary, 'I think… we should have you a get a CT scan… just to be sure, you know?' until it ends with the 'Let me just lie down here for a moment,' drained expression as her friend slowly crawls to the sofa to do exactly what she just said.

Chloe does admit Aubrey's reaction is priceless but still, she knew her well enough to know that despite the logical mind her friend possesses, there was also a part of Aubrey that Chloe is certain, believes her no matter how absurd everything she just said sounds like. All she needs is for Aubrey's mind to slowly take this all in. Her friend was smart after all—too smart actually—and even from a distance she can tell the wheels in Aubrey's mind turning around before clicking in place.

"So, let me just get this straight. You woke up in somebody else's body, lived someone else's life and met this person's best friend who actually happens to be that 'star' girl you have this massive crush for and met at that music festival two years ago?" Aubrey narrates, both hands holding her head while she stares up at the ceiling, pausing for Chloe's confirmation.

"Yes,"

"And you've been living in her apartment for these past two weeks under the guise of her best friend, this uhm, Stacie?" she pauses again and Chloe mumbles another 'yes'.

"And you like this Beca?"

The question was unexpected. Chloe hadn't exactly said that she had feelings for Beca but it seems Aubrey has already figured that out. Her silence makes Aubrey finally sit up and face her, the look in her eyes changing abruptly as the realization dawns on her. By the looks of it, it was like Chloe had some huge neon heart sign blinking on top of her head and Aubrey could see it clearly.

"Uh oh," Aubrey groans before leaning back against the cushion. "I recognize that look, Chlo. That's the look that got you crumbling apart and swirling into a pit of misery because of that thing your heart does!" she says, pointing at her and giving her that look which challenges her to prove her assumptions wrong.

She wasn't wrong.

"I'm falling in love with her," Chloe confesses. "I was just about to tell her that," she adds, her voice cracking so she swallows down the lump in her throat, the memories so fresh in her head continue to pour down on her.

"I-I've never felt this way, this deep for someone like this before," she softly admits, a tear spilling in the corner of her eye. She then feels Aubrey gently place her hand over her head trying to comfort her.

"Chlo, you know that this isn't going to be easy," the blonde female reminds her.

"Beca, she's not like…"

"Us," Chloe finishes before looking up at Aubrey. "She's not like us. I know, Bree. Believe me, there wasn't a day that I haven't thought of all the consequences if ever I do choose to be with her but," she pauses, shaking her head before struggling to get the words out of her chest.

"I don't think I can ever keep myself away from her,"

* * *

Recovering wasn't easy. Lots of physical therapy was required and having to regain back her ability to walk with her other leg definitely wasn't a piece of cake. After a month of bed rest, Chloe had spent her days with sheer will power in order to at least walk a few steps at a time. The first time had her instantly falling down as her physical therapist catches her in time. It had her struggling in pain and frustration but knowing that recovery is the equivalent to finally getting to see Beca, Chloe steadies herself and tries again. That had been her constant motivation. She's also been into writing songs during her spare time, memories of the brunette she longed to see inspired her to keep creating lyrics. Besides, it was easy to get bored in the hospital. Television wasn't an option to pass time since the media was all over her recently and Chloe wasn't happy about the attention. Not to mention, a couple of false rumours that said she was 'faking it to get attention'. The hospital had started to become like a prison cell and she finally gets why Beca couldn't keep still whenever she—in Stacie's body—was admitted to one.

The only time her spirits were lifted was when Aubrey comes for a visit. She had appreciated Aubrey's dedication to drop by as much as she can. Despite the constant heavy schedule, her friend still makes it whenever she gets off from work. Her loyal friend had probably brought in everything that could provide entertainment and relief from boredom. From crossword puzzles to those virtual reality headsets, although, Aubrey was quick to take back the headset due to the danger it causes. Chloe had almost fell of the bed while wearing the said headset and if her manager hadn't caught her she would've certainly broken another bone.

In short, no more virtual reality trash.

Now, for the time ever since Chloe woke up, it was notable that she had developed some unhealthy habits, habits which Aubrey had been keen on cutting.

"But pizza is always good with beer!" Chloe complains as her best friend takes the alcoholic beverage Alex had secretly brought in as per Chloe's request—more like threat to be exact.

"You're under medication, Chlo! And since when have you been drinking this stuff?" Aubrey asks, scrunching her face at strong alcohol scent from the bottle. However, as soon as she notices the look on Chloe's face, Aubrey seemed to have an answer and it's definitely a 'who'.

"I cannot wait until I meet this Beca, she seems like such a good influence," she sarcastically says before disposing of the beer for good whilst Chloe sulks in her corner.

But then if Aubrey thinks she'd stay in bed and listen to those boring long list of do's and don'ts while in the hospital, then her friend is just about to hate Beca even more.

Like that one time.

"Have you lost your mind?" Aubrey questions her in a way that makes Chloe flinch in fear. Apparently, she'd been caught, wheelchair racing, an illegal sport patients have used to pass time in the outdoor garden area of the hospital. Chloe had even managed to get Alex to be her accomplice and now they sat down in front of their mother like children guilty for throwing eggs at the neighbour's car.

"We just got bore—"

"Don't give me that excuse!" Aubrey counters before Chloe could even finish and that had both she and Alex shrinking.

It is public knowledge that when a Posen imposes something it better not break or the whole world shall experience wrath. Above all things that her friend is very particular of is health and safety, obviously. But then if you look deep into it, it's sweet to have someone who cares that much for you, it's just sometimes she rivals Victoria Beale's strictness, maybe even more than that of Chloe's excessive mother.

"And you!" Aubrey turns her attention to Alex who gulps and sweats nervously. "You should be making sure she's far from harm not joining in on that race!" she reprimands him and Chloe tries to open her mouth in her manager's defense but one look from Aubrey shuts her down instantly.

"Why did you even get yourselves into this?" Aubrey finally sighs.

"For a drone," Alex quietly answers but it surely wasn't quiet enough to escape Aubrey's ears as she frowns. "A what?!"

"A drone, Bree. The ones that have cameras which you can control as they fly up in the air," Chloe says, the excitement back in her voice as she looks at an equally enthusiastic Alex.

"We were planning to spy on the on-going love triangle happening between Anthony, Lena and Rose," Chloe's manager stage whispers excitedly while Aubrey continues to look lost.

"Who?"

"Doctor Anthony, from Cardio, Doctor Lena, from Pediatrics and Nurse Rose," Chloe supplies before instantly lowering her voice as Alex gives her a warning slap on the arm to hush her down. "Lena and Rose belong together, they are each other's forever," Chloe sighs dreamily, a sad look visibly passing her face before being covered and replaced by a small smile when Alex mentions that the handsome Doctor Anthony should be with him instead of going after Lena.

"Enough, this isn't Grey's Anatomy so you two stop it before I create real drama you both would not want," Aubrey says in finality while they both nod reluctantly. However, as soon as Aubrey leaves for work at a night shoot, they'd be back outside for another discreet game of cards with the patient two doors down from their room. This time, the price comes in the form of a much coveted pair of headphones—which Chloe can definitely buy but where's the fun in that?

Besides, it's the only thing she can do to take her mind off the only reason that brings pain to her heart.

* * *

Aubrey's heels echo across the hallway as she adjusts her sunglasses and lower her cap to cover her face. Based on the information which took such great lengths to acquire, this is the place. However, she has only took one step inside the shady building but she's already questioning her decision to come and maybe even just how important Chloe is as a friend. She's already risking too much and by this time she is pretty sure that based on her hiding skills every secret spy agency is dying to recruit her. Earlier, she did a few car swaps, a couple of detours and a little bit of deception and she had finally lost the cameramen following her. Now, she's about to get down to business tonight and she has to make it quick before someone recognizes her. So, before all her efforts and a week's worth of careful planning go to waste, she pushes down all her doubts and heads up the stairs since the elevator seems to be out of order today—that faded sign seems to be hanging for such a long time though.

On the way up, she hears loud chatting and heavy footsteps heading down. A woman with an Australian accent was talking to her friends about some cheese holiday that she made up to get her friend to 'unwind' when she accidentally bumps Aubrey's shoulder.

"Oh sorry, didn't see you there," the loud woman says and just when Aubrey thought that she successfully avoided danger she freezes when the woman turns back at her again. "Hey you, agent 007, are you the new tenant?" the question has Aubrey breathing out a sigh of relief, the fear of being recognized is seriously making her paranoid.

"Uhm no, just visiting," Aubrey replies after clearing her throat. The blonde Australian then comments something about high-class prostitutes which makes Aubrey frown, not knowing whether to flip a table or smile at the fact that she at least still looked 'high-class' despite her basic fashion of shirt and jeans.

"It's a little dim in here, lights are in need of repair, watch your step," her companion, a shorter woman with a Hispanic accent warns her referring to the sunglasses covering her eyes but before Aubrey could thank her for the concern she is talking once more, "Also, this place is haunted so ghosts roam the area especially the fifth floor. If you hear anything don't talk to it or go looking for it like those dumb people in the movies, you run and never look back, comprende?"

Stunned and speechless, it takes Aubrey a little bit more time to let that all sink in as she nods hesitantly and answers curtly, "Sí,"

The two women then continue on downstairs as Aubrey lightly shakes her head and finally reaches the third floor only to freeze once more. Passing in front of her, some shirtless guy with his face and body painted blue, with what seems like his favourite football team. The guy is running along the hallway screaming like a maniac, his cape hanging around his neck flying behind him. From the direction where he had been, shouts of the game not being over yet and the name 'Bumper' echoing from one of the rooms. This 'Bumper' guy runs back around and this time Aubrey has the very unpleasant experience of seeing him tear his pants off like Magic Mike—but with less of the magic—leaving him in only his Superman underwear.

With her face scrunched up in disgust and disbelief, Aubrey was just about to finally take a step forward when she hears a soft murmur and when she turns to the stairs heading up the fourth floor, huge accusing eyes watch her intently. A female with Asian features is sitting near the foot of the stairs and Aubrey jumps in fright, a hand clutching her chest as her back presses against the wall.

"What the hell is this place?" she hisses to herself, looking around cautiously. The Asian woman still had her eyes towards her as she seems to be saying words that Aubrey could barely even hear—and hopefully it isn't a spell or a curse. She did catch a few of those words and it just left her even more confused.

"You've finally arrived,"

Whatever that meant, doesn't sound really comforting at all.

Walking sideways with her back on the wall and still facing the Asian whose unblinking eyes remained glued to her, following her every move, Aubrey continues on to the hallway, her arms now crossed in front of her. She hates being so vulnerable and away from the safety of her comfort zone. It doesn't even help that each room she has passed had strange sounds, worrying noises to be exact. She even swore that the Joker lives in one of the rooms because that sadistic laugh followed by the screams were no _joke_. How her best friend lived in such a place for weeks was just so unimaginable. Chloe who had been born and bred into an upper class lifestyle could not have possibly survived in such an environment. Her friend had never even had her high heels dipped into dust or dirt which is definitely abundant in this god-forsaken building. It's already triggering Aubrey's allergies so she digs in her pocket for nasal inhaler.

After another tense minute, Aubrey's eyes finally sees the number she had been looking for. She feels a mixture of nervousness and excitement but just as she was about to raise her fist to knock on the door, she hears a noise at the other end of the hallway.

"You lost the bet. Come back here, super idiot!" a fuming black woman emerges from the room followed by two other cackling drunk guys at the end of the hall as she storms after the almost naked guy named Bumper who has been screaming defiance and something about cheating. They were all running her way and for the sake of her career and reputation, Aubrey doesn't want to get caught up in a brawl so she pounds her palm on the door quickly with all urgency.

When the door finally opens, she lunges in forward without even thinking, eyes shut tight as she prays for safety on the other end. She collides with another soft body as they both trip and fall to the floor loudly, her sunglasses and cap flying around due to the impact. It takes Aubrey a full minute to even realize the pained groan coming from underneath her. When she does, she immediately picks herself up to check on the unfortunate individual and as soon as she does, her concerned emerald green eyes collide with familiar striking dark blue-green orbs.

In seconds, a sly smile forms on those luscious lips before opening and beating Aubrey to it, "Finally, my blonde mermaid is here. Was wondering when you'd finally _fall_ for me," the female says, looking like such a hot mess despite the little accident with her light brown hair scattered on the floor.

 _What mermaid?_

The flirty joke snaps Aubrey out of the initial shock as she backs away—or more like crawl away—and quickly returns right up on her feet. She still does remember her manners and offers her hand for the pretty female to take. The smirking female takes her hand without any hesitation and Aubrey is surprised to feel just how warm the brunette's hand is, the very same hand which lingers on to hers for a couple of moments more than intended before letting go.

It felt strange.

Admittedly, there really was something familiar about this woman and that short explosive connection, that comfortable warmth almost makes Aubrey forget what she originally came to do.

Pushing those thoughts aside, she berates herself for being careless and clumsy as she consciously straightens her shirt and combs her hair with her fingers before finally speaking to the highly amused female in front of her. Of course, as always, manners comes first in Aubrey's book.

"First of all, I'd like to apologize for what happened about a minute ago, there was uhh," she pauses for a word to place what she's seen earlier, "A rather disturbing and violent commotion outside that I believe you should report to the management of this… building. Thus, the reason for my sudden abrasive entrance which I again want to apologize for," she slowly explains before clearing her throat once more—the air is just dry in here.

"Oh please, that's nothing new and no apologies needed. Your only fault was being late. I was almost getting the idea that you bailed on me, babe," the smirking female winks playfully and Aubrey internally sighs as she realizes that the tall sexy brunette was indeed flirting with her, and shamelessly at that. For the record, Aubrey never had encountered anyone brave enough to come on to her this confidently. Most of the men who tried, initially had to impress her with all their achievements in life, their family status and wealth as if they were brandishing out their entire resume for her to gape at. But if they think that she would feel honoured or think that she can be bought by those useless information then they are most definitely wrong.

Anyways, she's most definitely not here for that.

Brushing the obvious coquetry, she immediately decides to get to the point. The faster this conversation ends, the faster she leaves this place. "Are you Beca or Stacie?" she asks directly as the female tilts her head to the side, the look of amusement never leaving her eyes.

"Beca's not here, she's working at the bar, well, that is if, you're here for her," Stacie says, her tone displaying obvious disappointment at the thought before her lips quirk up, "But if you're here for me, then you are in luck since I took the night off," Stacie replies as she slowly takes a step forward, leaning lightly towards her ear as she whispers ever so sensually,

"I also happen to be more knowledgeable when it comes to delectable food and deliciously tempting fun, sweetheart,"

Aubrey blinks a few times, the feeling of warm breath hitting her skin made her lips open and close with the loss of words. Before she knows it, Stacie had walked pass her and was opening the door once more. Breaking off from the daze she was in, Aubrey quickly spins around to face the waiting female.

"Wait, let me just make this clear," she starts firmly, finally getting a hold of herself this time. This Stacie had just easily pushed her around just like that and Aubrey wasn't going to let her have the upper-hand. She may be at a disadvantage because she wasn't in her territory but that doesn't mean that Aubrey was just going to let her win.

Who does this woman think she is anyway?

"I'm not your 'babe' or your 'sweetheart'. I'm not going to flirt with you, I'm not going to eat 'delicious' food with you, and I'm most certainly not going anywhere 'fun' with you. And maybe you haven't noticed but for your information, I'm not interested with women. I'm here for one thing and one thing alone and that is—"

"For Chloe, I know," Stacie breathes out as she leans on the open doorway. At the mention of her friend's name, Aubrey pauses for a second to study the female in front of her. Stacie seemed to already have an idea as to what she was here for. The look the brunette was giving didn't appear confused at all. If she was really waiting for her then it is possible that the female knows.

Aubrey has to admit, this _body-swapping_ situation is getting weirder every day.

"And fine, 'besties' it is then," Stacie shrugs before offering her hand out towards Aubrey. She eyes the outstretched hand and then back on to the anticipating female. With Stacie's palm facing down, it doesn't look like she's asking for a handshake thus, Aubrey's confusion.

"What are you—what do you want me to…?" she hesitates, looking at the tall brunette cautiously.

"Hold my hand, we're going out. Beca won't be home in a couple of hours but with what I think we are going to talk about, it'll take that much time and my best friend isn't in her best condition to deal with all this yet," she says in a matter of fact tone.

"And what kind of danger requires me to hold your hand?" Aubrey questions sarcastically before adding, "I'm much more capable of protecting myself, thank you very much," she says before picking up her cap to wear. She did think twice about the sunglasses since the sun has long gone and to be honest it just attracts attention so, she opts not to wear them and lowers her cap to hide her face instead.

"Alright, suit yourself," Stacie simply says as she starts to head out. Aubrey follows her, turning her head to the direction behind her as she hears protests far away. What she sees is Bumper being dragged helplessly by the foot to a corner, his cries vanishing as she loses sight of him. Horrified, she hurries and keeps a close distance to Stacie as walk through the hallway. Meanwhile, Stacie was anything but scared as she passes by a couple of pierced and tattooed men whom she greeted comfortably with some sort of handshake. When they passed by the unit where _Mistah' J_ lives—the horrifying laughter and screams are still happening—Stacie had smiled and shook her head before knocking on the door.

"Dude, you sound amazing! Good luck!" the tall brunette yells before continuing to walk to the stairs where thankfully, the scary Asian girl wasn't hanging around anymore. She then turns to Aubrey and casually starts to explain.

"Most people in this building are Hollywood hopefuls or rejects, not really surprising given that we are in the "City of Stars" and everyone who basically moves here dreams of making it big. That guy with the scary laugh, Max, had been auditioning for this indie horror movie because horror films are his passion. Currently, he's been rejected for about…," Stacie pauses in thought before continuing. "If I'm not mistaken, 52 times,"

"Oh," Aubrey looks down, not saying anything after that since she knows fully well just how few are lucky enough to land a spot in a movie, especially if you are one of the C or D-listers in the entertainment industry. She's been there and rejection is something she had to get used to at first.

"I know, this building has a bunch of weirdos and crazies, myself and Beca included, but don't take it the wrong way, they are all good people giving up everything for their dreams," Stacie says and Aubrey is surprised to hear much sincerity in her voice.

"So you and Beca are vying for a ticket to Hollywood as well then?" Aubrey asks even though from what she got from Chloe, she already knew Beca and Stacie are into creating music.

"Yup, sort of, we just really enjoy doing music," Stacie says, stopping to look at her as they exit the building. "We actually dream of putting up an entertainment company, particularly one that focuses more into talent rather than looks or anything that screams, come look at me wear a handkerchief and lay on a bunch of naked bodies, I'm so fuckable! Buy the album!" Stacie says bluntly in a valley girl accent as Aubrey raises her eyebrows at that and slowly nods, smiling at the funny impression.

"I get what you mean," she says, cringing at the thought.

Stacie does have a point though and Aubrey knows a lot of artists—some of Chloe's co-workers—who do exactly that, sell their appearance rather than talent. Unfortunately, most of those people are the ones who make it big while those who really pour their heart and soul in it are left down below. Which is actually the reason why Aubrey prefers songs which aren't from this century or those songs that are hidden from the mainstream sounds.

"Unfortunately, achieving that dream is going to take a million years," Stacie sighs, a small smile playing at the corner of her lips as she continues to walk, Aubrey following suit as they head off side by side to wherever Stacie is taking her.

"But we will get there,"

As she follows Stacie turn around a corner, from her peripheral, Aubrey notices a bunch of suspicious guys hanging around the side of the street, probably smoking something illegal, they've been talking but she notices that as soon as they pass by the talking tones down into whispers and sniggers.

"Hey there sexy, you look lonely," a guy hollers at them and again Aubrey's warning lights go off especially when she hears footsteps following behind.

Why had she even thought that this was a good idea in the first place, anyway?

"I'm talking to you blondie," the guy continues as his friends chuckle. "I'm not here to hurt you, just wanna' talk," he continues and Aubrey quickens her pace. She doesn't even realize it but her hand ultimately searches solace and finds it in another. She squeezes on to Stacie's hand tight and finds comfort when she feels her squeeze back.

"Fuck off, Harv," Stacie says as she stops and looks back, those deep blue-green eyes flashing a look that nobody would like to mess with. "This one's mine," she warns in a deadly tone, one that Aubrey was even surprise to hear from the playful girl. Even more surprising was the fact that the guy puts up both his hands in front of him and slowly backs away.

"Sorry S, didn't know she was yours," he yells out before shouting nonsense with his friends.

Dumbfounded, Aubrey only regains her focus when she feels Stacie's arm wrap around her waist to pull her closer. Due to the situation, she thinks it is best not to even question anything anymore so she doesn't fight it. Besides, Stacie is surprisingly warm.

"Don't look back, just keep walking," Stacie whispers against her ear. "They don't seem to be following so I think we're good," she adds as Aubrey glances at the brunette.

"And if they do then I hope you have a really good plan," she says, her heart beating fast at the scary thought.

"Well, I know a few moves but I'm not as good as Beca is. I'm more of punch and run—I mean these long legs have never failed me, especially when we are facing a group of unstable junkies. Well, that's me, I'm honestly all for love and peace," Stacie admits, that playful smile finding its way back in her lips.

"Oh that's very comforting," Aubrey replies with sarcasm, shaking her head and muttering, "Sure, kill them with love," while Stacie snorts.

They keep walking until Stacie starts to slow down in front of a small pub. Looking at the small establishment however makes Aubrey stop hard in her tracks, tugging Stacie to an abrupt stop as well since as she has only realized now, they were still linked together by the hip.

"What?"

"I can't," Aubrey quickly answers and notices the questioning look from Stacie. "It's… I can't be seen in there, you know, lots of people means that… I just can't, look I brought my car and we can go—"

"Nope, definitely not," this time it's Stacie who is quick to protest. "Wherever you go and hang out means that those flashing cameras are present. Don't forget we need to be discreet which also means Beca and Chloe should not know, at least not until we have concocted our solid plan. Also, please take into consideration that the world isn't ready to see my gorgeousness just yet," Stacie says.

"Yeah I understand that but then if someone recognizes me in there then this plan is dead before we can even deliver it into this world. And not to brag but as it seems I always carry an invisible magnet that attracts people no matter how much I try to appear less… appealing," she exhales before unconsciously running her finger down her locks and subtly adding, "I think it's the hair,"

Stacie gazes at the pub and Aubrey can't tell if she was looking at it longingly or running a mental debate about where else to go inside her head.

"They have the best burgers in the neighbourhood though," Stacie muses after a while and Aubrey looks at the place skeptically.

"Do they have anything vegetarian in there?" she asks only to be replied by laughter.

"Oh boy, what a sad life you live," Stacie comments in between soft chuckles much to Aubrey's annoyance. She's about to give her defense about the false fact that vegetarian diet isn't delicious when Stacie holds up a finger to stop her.

"I have an idea and you might not like it," the brunette immediately suggests, facing Aubrey fully with a look that is quite similar to that look Chloe gives her when she is brewing another one of her crazy ideas—which Aubrey extinguishes before it erupts into flames.

Stacie must have noticed the hesitation and brings a hand to rest on Aubrey's arm. "It's, for sure, going to render your 'invisible magnet' useless and keep people away from you. So can you just trust me? Even for just five minutes," she offers a small smile and having no other option at this point, Aubrey inhales deeply before giving her answer.

"I don't really have a choice," she admits, throwing her hands in the air as a sign of surrender.

The brunette looks at her thoughtfully before shaking her head, "You always have a choice, silly," she says, her words slowly sinking into Aubrey's head even as she is pulled by the hand inside the pub.

Aubrey instantly smells the scent of food and alcohol as they enter. By instinct, she lowers her head down, her cap being the only thing hiding her identity. With her eyes on the floor, she fully relies on Stacie's lead as she doesn't exactly see where they are heading. She could hear billiard balls hitting and shooting towards the table pockets, darts landing on the dart board, clinking of glasses and hearty chatting all around. However, they stop abruptly just at the middle of the bar area that her head literally bumps against Stacie's back. The tall brunette then turns around to face her and as she looks up to ask, she feels Stacie lift up her cap just a bit. This sends her a state of alarm but before she could even undo the action and give out a glare, she feels an arm wrap around her waist, bringing her closer with her body flushed against Stacie's.

Shocked, she squeaks at the action before bringing her focus up at Stacie's face now inches away from hers. She knew she should protest and say something, anything, but for some reason unknown, her lips remained speechless. She couldn't even think of anything as she feels Stacie's hand at the back of her neck, her long fingers burying and tangling in her hair. The room felt really quiet or maybe it's just her brain shutting down as Stacie's dark eyes flit down on her lips.

"Scene 1, Take 1," she hears Stacie whisper, her warm breathe hitting her skin and causing goose bumps to appear on her arms. It doesn't even help when the taller female starts counting down, "3…2…1,"

The tall brunette tilts her head ever so lightly as her head dips down, stopping for a second to look into Aubrey's eyes as if seeking permission before everything just goes blank.

"Action,"

Soft lips linger against hers, moving slowly, teasingly, before pressing forward as Aubrey's heartbeat shoots up. The air around them heating up as Aubrey's lips slowly break apart in search for more and more is exactly what she gets. Maybe that's why men love kissing girls, they taste sweeter or it just might be Stacie. Whatever it was, Aubrey would never know. There was no room for her perfectly rational thoughts and for once something had successfully distracted all her anxieties from invading her mind. When they finally break apart, lips swollen and chests heaving, Aubrey ultimately feels dizzy. Their faces however remain inches apart, both of them seemingly frozen in their spot.

"Cut," Stacie breathes out softly as she looks into Aubrey's hazy eyes.

When everything does sink in, Aubrey doesn't even know where to begin. The noise around them comes back and she quickly realizes that they were still inside the pub yet nobody seemed to care about them. She blinks several times, not knowing what to say this time either.

Stacie does though and Aubrey was certain she's just about close to losing it with this woman,

"It's a pleasure to officially meet you, Aubrey Posen,"

* * *

Chloe opens the doors of the café and is greeted with the pleasant scent of coffee. It was early in the morning and unfortunately despite driving to the furthest coffee shop from her neighbourhood, a couple of media men had still managed to tail her car. Sighing, she decides to just ignore them like always as she orders an Americano in a to-go cup. It's not for her though. Chloe does drink coffee but she goes for something sweeter like a latte or even a frappe. Basically any coffee with lots of milk and sugar is more preferable to her.

Grabbing the coffee, Chloe finally makes her way outside to complete her delivery. Her knee was better now, there's still a slight limp in her step though and she still has to be careful with her movements. Therapy really did pay off and now she is capable of moving on her own. Getting in her car, she orders her driver to head off to the address she gave. It's her day off today anyway so, she doesn't have to bring any of her assistants and she's assured Alex that she'd just be visiting a friend nearby.

Upon arriving at her destination, she feels her stomach turn and flip. It's been two months, two long months. Deciding to just go for it, she opens her car door, coffee cup in hand as she briskly walks inside the building.

As soon as she steps in, she's immediately stopped at the entrance by security but when she lifts her head up to face him, the guy's face falls in to that of recognition as his stance immediately softens into that of respect.

"Oh… Ms. Beale, d-do you need—"

"She's with me," a female's voice speaks up, it was so familiar to Chloe that she instantly whips her head into the direction of the voice.

"Stacie," Chloe says, a smile slowly forming on her face as the tall brunette leads her into the elevator.

"Okay," Stacie finally says as the elevator doors close. "This is weird," she adds as Chloe nods in agreement. With the way Stacie's eyebrows raise up in amusement, Chloe can tell that the tall brunette seems to know things. So, she decides to subtly try to gauge just what Stacie 'knows'.

"Right, so, do you… remember?" she softly says hesitantly while Stacie only cocks her head to the right, observing her in silence before finally speaking.

"Your mother is quite scary and funny at the same time. I mean, she did complain about the hospital sheets looking so tasteless and then cried because the 'pathetic colour' makes you look like when Edward left Bella on the second Twilight movie and that you deserve only the best. Your father on the other hand, very sweet and probably the most understanding man in the world, being married to your mother and all," she says with a smile.

"But my experiences are definitely not as fun as yours I presume," she adds, looking at Chloe expectantly.

"I had nothing but fun and Beca had a lot to do with that," Chloe replies, smiling back when Stacie's face lights up at the mention of Beca's name. "You also have a nice body," Chloe compliments.

"Thank you. I would have said the same for you if I wasn't floating in dream land all the time," Stacie replies.

It takes a moment before they glance at each other and then burst out laughing and shaking their heads at the absurdity.

"How did you know that I was coming?" Chloe asks curiously as Stacie holds up her phone.

"Aubrey is freaking out," she answers and Chloe mentally sighs. She just found out—by accident—a couple of days ago that her best friend had actually been secretly talking to a certain 'Stacie' for weeks now. Turns out her suspicions were correct and Aubrey's Stacie happens to be the 'Stacie' Chloe knows so well. It's also been a fact that she had indeed been planning on meeting Beca again for weeks now, yet due to a ton of circumstances that hinder her from running back into the woman she misses so much, she had to—in Aubrey's words—wait for the right time. The right time, of course meant having the issues surrounding her accident dying down and her physical therapy completed. She had to take into account that she had to be careful not to cause any scandal regarding a certain dark blue-eyed female.

"You ready?" Stacie asks as they reach their floor, Beca's floor.

Chloe was finally going to see Beca again and the outcome of this meeting is still unknown. Based on what she heard from Aubrey—which she then got from Stacie—Beca had been well, sort of, lethargic and distracted these past few weeks. Chloe clearly knows that she's, if not the majority, part of the reason why.

Fortunately, Chloe came at a good time. Everyone was busy working in their areas and Stacie did a really good job at covering her presence by either glaring at people— _"Are you looking at my tits, pervert?"_ —or easily throwing them off with savage lies— _"You have a stain on your face, yeah, your whole face, Linda,"_

No wonder she and Beca are best of friends.

Nevertheless, they finally reached the room where Chloe's heart skips a beat. Her feet ultimately stop at the door as she sees Beca working in her cubicle. It was so surreal she could almost cry right then and there. All she had were memories for the past two months and the longing in her chest had grown each day they were apart. Now there is this huge hole that finally would be filled up today.

"Hey, you okay?" Stacie's words break her thoughts as she nods quickly.

"Yeah, it's just… it's been a while," she admits, looking down at the coffee cup in her hands anxiously.

"Don't worry, it's going to be fine," Stacie kindly assures her before turning to the direction where the busy female is currently sitting, earphones plugged in her ears and eyes glued to the screen in front of her.

"Beca," Chloe hears Stacie call out but then the tiny brunette didn't seem to have heard her friend as whatever she was looking at remains to capture her full attention. This then prompts Stacie to call out to her a few more times before ultimately yelling out a, "God damn it, Mitchell!"

This finally grabs Beca's attention as Chloe hears her say, "I'm busy, just leave whatever there," with a lazy dismissive wave which almost makes Chloe laugh. It's definitely a very Beca thing after all.

Giving up, Stacie looks over at her as if asking her what to do next. Smiling, Chloe nods before stepping forward. Getting the hint, Stacie replies with a knowing smile and leaves but not without a sarcastic yet meaningful,

"Fine, I'm leaving _it_ here then,"

As the gap lessens between them, Chloe fights every urge to leap in and hug the girl sitting in front of her. She almost doesn't notice what Beca was very intent on reading, something so interesting enough for her to block out the whole world. But when her eyes land on the screen and find photos of her just minutes ago in front of the very coffee shop the cup of coffee in her hands came from, her lips split into a wide smile. So without a second to waste, she places the coffee cup in front of Beca from behind. The effect was hilarious as Beca clumsily shuts off the websites that bear her face and name in it. Thinking she was Stacie, the brunette suddenly starts explaining herself with all those certainly lame excuses—and that funny threat.

"And thanks for the coffee," she hears Beca say before she bends down a bit to listen to the music playing in Beca's earphones, her ear already next to the brunette's. When she does hear the familiar melody, Chloe's face brightens up.

She's listening to her song.

It was the song that she fervently hoped Beca would hear. A song only meant for her. Which was why she then decided to face the inevitable.

"No problem, Becs. Love my new song?"

The chair Beca was sitting on creaks as Chloe unconsciously holds her breath. Seconds felt like a thousand years and despite being apart for months the connection between them remains. Chloe feels it as she meets Beca's eyes. It stirs her heart to see those eyes outlined by dark eye-liner, those tattoos peeking from her jacket and of course, Beca's signature all dark outfit had been replaced by something lighter—she's wearing a dark green top but that's already a huge improvement from all the blacks and greys.

Time stops until Beca stands up, her gaze never leaving Chloe.

Not hearing a word from Stacie's best friend, Chloe smiles but before she could say anything else, Beca finally manages to sputter out a word.

"Welcome,"

Before this moment, Chloe had imagined at least a dozen of scenarios in her head especially on the part about what Beca would say to her once they come face to face and she never in a million of years thought that 'Welcome' would be one of them. She had imagined that the brunette would have mixed emotions and she was willing to accept any emotion but this. This is… she doesn't even know what to make of this.

"Is there anything you need? Coffee? Juice? Soda? Reading materials?" Beca asks without even blinking that Chloe suddenly feels like she's been transported into another world—a world where Beca's body has suddenly been inhabited by a flight stewardess.

"Know what, I'll get all of that for you. Hold, please—uhm I meant, wait. Wait please," Beca says in a very awkwardly formal tone and just like that she's out of the room before Chloe could even react. Frowning, she makes her way out to the hallway to find Stacie standing in front of what seems like a hyperventilating Beca.

"Stace, I think I'm seeing things,"

And yes that's exactly what Chloe hears as Stacie apologetically looks her way. It's now becoming plain obvious as to what is going on with Beca.

A huge mental breakdown.

"I have to go to the hospital," Beca continues as she paces in front of her best friend who is still trying to calm her down. "I think I'm mentally ill—oh god, what am I supposed to do?"

Stacie, having had enough, gets Beca to stop by holding her still with both her hands, "Beca, you aren't going crazy—"

"But I saw her! I saw Chloe Beale," Beca says, her voice lowering down into a whisper as she says her name, a finger pointing behind her, over at the direction where Chloe is currently standing.

"Well, we're both crazy then because I see her too, Beca," Stacie deadpans before turning Beca around so that she faces Chloe.

"Becs—"

"Welcome to KSCK 91.5," Beca cuts her off in the same formal tone as earlier. "I'll go get everything you need and more. Just a moment—Just, stay… right there," she says before swivelling in her heels and speed walking towards the opposite direction.

"Wow, I think you broke her," Stacie comments in disbelief as they both look at Beca taking off to wherever Chloe isn't. "We've been friends for more than ten years and never had I seen her act this way," she huffs, both hands on her hips.

Sighing, Chloe hangs her head in defeat, her red locks creating a curtain in front of her face, "I scared her," she mutters sadly as Stacie gently pats her back. Beca's best friend then takes out her phone, typing quickly and pressing send.

"Don't worry, you pretty little ginger. You'll have your awkward little dwarf soon. It's time for Step 2,"

* * *

 **A/N: Things are finally falling where they supposed to fall into.**

 **So we are cooking a recipe for this chapter. First off, a little pinch of Staubrey. Also we can see how dedicated Aubrey is into not doing the things she firmly said she wouldn't do with Stacie. And then add in a sprinkle of Bechloe. Beca sweetheart, like Posen, you can run but you can't hide. You are now someone's main dish-cough-Chloe-cough. Finally, a combination of Chloe+Stacie, these two when put together spells delicious trouble and loads of flavorful fun.**

 **Thank you for the overwhelming love from the new followers! All the comments/reviews are so so so appreciated. I hope I don't disappoint and keep you guys hanging around until the very last word.**


	15. Purple Feelings

**Chapter 15**

 **Purple Feelings**

Is it even legal to be this crazy over _you_?

That's what the huge perfume advertisement sign says behind where Beca is sitting and even though it takes a jab on her current situation she isn't giving a shit about it as her head hangs low, eyes staring blankly at the dirt on the ground, a cigarette stick held in between her motionless fingers. Whatever happened in the past hour was surreal. It couldn't even be real. How could she possibly just seen Chloe Beale casually stroll in from social media to her workplace? Moreover, her ears could possibly be hearing things as well or did Chloe just call her… Becs?

"What the fuck is going on?" Beca whispers to herself in disbelief.

Running a hand through her dark brown tresses, she lifts her head up, a move she would instantly regret as a bus passes by with a fashion ad of Chloe Beale's smiling face printed on it as if teasing her and the dilemma she was in. Shaking her head with dread and confusion, she finally stands up, discards her cigarette and starts walking back to her office building. But then as she stops at a small intersection, an open car blasting Chloe Beale's newest single 'Together Forever' passes her by in a painfully slow manner, that voice singing to her, telling her to come closer.

Distractedly, Beca scuttles forward and reaches the radio station in no time. But then as soon as she enters an employee carelessly has her stuff spilled on the ground. Picking up the items in front of her, Beca was just about to hand it over to the panicked employee when she freezes at the magazine she was holding, the cover girl, Chloe Beale herself looking so damn irresistible in that hot leather jacket. But the point of it was what she was wearing underneath it. Which is called nothing by the way. The photo had Beca handing the magazine back like it burned her fingers and rushed inside the elevator, sweat dripping at the side of her neck as she fans herself with her hand. However, her movements stop short as her ears pick up the conversation behind her.

" _Have you heard Chloe Beale's newest single?"_

" _Yeah, it's so good!"_

" _She looks so good too,"_

" _It's like she didn't go through an accident—god what I would give to have those eyes. She's so pretty,"_

" _I know right! Her boyfriend is so lucky,"_

" _Oh! The one she was talking about on her song? Who do you think he is?"_

" _I don't know but with dark brown hair, dark blue eyes, sexy smirk, I mean whoever he is must be hot. Model perhaps?"_

" _No, it's probably her co-star in her upcoming movie,"_

If it weren't for the little bell going off to signal that they've reached a specific floor, most likely the floor those women need to be in, the conversation was literally enough for Beca to slam her head against the door. Even being finally left alone, Beca would not find relief as the air grows thick all around with the images of Chloe popping around her head. When she gets out, the elevator feels like an oven and she feels like she ran miles and miles before crashing back down on her seat. She scrunches up her hair in frustration before combing it with her fingers until she suddenly stills, pausing once more.

Dark brown hair, dark blue eyes, cold hands that go warm after a while and a sexy smirk.

Those were the descriptions that Chloe had been singing.

Her eyes land down on her hand as a strand of her dark brown locks now dangles before shifting her focus towards the small mirror sitting on the next cubicle to look straight at her dark blue irises. Her hands were always cold but they do get warm when holding on to something warm for so long. And well, not to brag but some of the people she dated had complimented her smirk. It's a flirting trademark she and Stacie share. They did try to perfect it all throughout college for all those parties Stacie says they were required to attend. It took her a few minutes of deep thinking but the more she tries to picture it, the more laughable it was.

No way.

Of all the people with dark brown hair and dark blue eyes, she can't possibly be the one Chloe is talking about. That was just too far-fetched! It's like saying you can reach space using a school bus. So yeah, there she was laughing it off and shaking her head, earning a few worried stares from her co-workers passing by.

But then again…

" _No problem, Becs. Love my new song?"_

"Get out of my head," she repeats over and over again. This can't be happening. Extremely good things like this don't just happen to her. It's just too good—wait, what? Did she just say good?

Letting out a frustrated growl, she rests her elbows on her table and covers her face with her hands. Mentally, she counts from one to a hundred in order for her breathing to calm down. It's time she starts thinking rationally and realistically.

Focusing on the facts alone, she mentally places a reasonable explanation for everything. A method she has done ever since high school.

One, Stace got into an accident and temporarily lost her memory. Two, the effect of this memory loss brought about a different personality and some questionable habits which her best friend doesn't normally do—which is totally understandable when your brain gets the shock of a lifetime. Even the doctor said so. Third, this new Stacie got Beca questioning her own heart and her beliefs, it also got her confused and acting un-Beca like which was frustrating but again, the change must have given her own brain a shock of a lifetime as well. Fourth, when Stacie finally went back to 'normal', it left Beca in a state of withdrawal—or whatever you call it. She felt like taking a happy pill only to have it snatched from her and therefore, got her all depressed and lost. It's as if a power cord was suddenly yanked off and darkness immediately followed. Everything just died. Hard to explain as it may be, Beca has finally—hopefully—moved on from it. She's never told Stacie about this though and she vows never to since she doesn't feel those things for her best friend anymore. Seriously, it's disgusting now that she thinks about it. Fifth and lastly, now that everything is seemingly all back to its place then comes Chloe Beale.

Chloe too perfect to be true Beale.

Insanely good-looking Chloe, looking more beautiful than ever—especially up-close—as she comes crashing into Beca's life like she had always belonged in it and sending her into a state of mental damage. The famous superstar had just dropped by in their radio station—for some business unknown—before handing her coffee, calling her that nickname memory loss Stacie called her and asking her if she liked the new song.

Glancing on the coffee cup Chloe given her, Beca tries to think of a rational explanation for the final fact but the only thing she has was from two years ago. They shared a moment inside that restroom during a music festival which Chloe performed in. However, no matter how many times she repeats the memory in mind, she was absolutely sure that never had she given out her name to the singer. Plus, it's been two years! If the superstar wanted to find her, she would have years ago. How does one even clearly remember someone they randomly met years ago? Especially someone as popular and hard to reach as Chloe. But the famous singer definitely knew. She knew Beca's name, well, if she knew that nickname then it's no doubt she'd even know her full name. She even bought her coffee and asked her about the new song she made.

"Are you going to drink that?" Joe, one of their radio traffic managers asks in jest, like any of their regular days, but on this particular Friday Beca was quick to secure the precious cup out of his reach with a glare sending the poor guy awkwardly walking away.

Whatever the reason for Chloe's sudden visit, Beca had still wished she stopped herself from acting like an idiot in front of her. Now she was regretting having looked like a crazy person. Maybe the beautiful singer just suddenly remembered her from the music festival and asked around until she got her name—which she happened to nickname the way Stacie had when her brain got fried.

"Ugh, why am I like this?" she groans pathetically before shaking her head and vowing that if ever the gods permit her to see the famous redhead again, she's definitely apologizing like her life depended on it. Also, she was going to kill her best friend for leaving such an important 'package' for her without any warning.

* * *

The mission kill my best friend was a no go.

Stacie did have a point, she did call out to her while she was shamelessly ogling photos of the person behind her but that's all in the past now. Tonight, all she has to focus on is work.

The bar was full again, despite it being a Thursday. It seems people just can't wait for Friday to come and Beca isn't complaining. The more people, the more tips she gets. Stacie, on the other hand, is on full flirting mode, smile, legs and cleavage all on point. An effective method to bring in more tips to be honest.

Her best friend mysteriously seems to be in such a good mood today. No complaints on being tired or wanting to hit the club tonight which she always groans about every single night. Strange but that doesn't really matter. At least one of them is having a good day.

After shooting a flirting guy's hopes down, Beca sighs, wishing that the night ends quickly. She was in no mood to socialize and pours out her full concentration on concocting drinks for the bar's patrons.

But if Beca thinks that the issue earlier had died, she was wrong.

"So, what's the deal with you and Chloe?" Stacie's teasing voice passes by from behind as the tall brunette hands out a couple of beers on a tray to Flo.

"Nothing," Beca hisses back as she hands out a Mai Tai to a waiting female customer.

"Oh, do I hear a lie? Do you know that your nose just grew a few inches?" Stacie replies sarcastically as Beca sighs for the umpteenth time. "Rebecca Mitchell, you know you can never lie to me, ever, but nice try though," Stacie continues, following Beca around until Beca feels cornered with no chance of escape.

"I met her two years ago, okay? It was a really short meeting, I didn't even give her my name nor did we exchanged numbers!" Beca finally admits rather defensively before handing out a Long Island to another customer.

"Well, it must be some awesome meeting because that thing you did earlier was something I can use against you for the rest of our miserable lives," Stacie says with a grin followed by a chuckle that annoys Beca to no end.

"Seriously though, you have to talk to her, _Becs_ ,"

The moniker Stacie teasingly spits out almost makes Beca spill out the Margarita she was making so she shoots her best friend one of her deadly glares which honestly, has no effect on the leggy brunette or whatsoever.

"How? She's not somebody I can just go up to—and don't call me that!" she says through gritted teeth before finally finishing up on the Margarita she was making.

"Why? Is _Becs_ only reserved for _your_ Chloe?" Stacie presses on, amusement sparkling on her eyes while Beca starts counting from one to a hundred again. Thoughts of throwing her friend off to Mars are seriously forming in her head and if she doesn't hold it together she just might act on said thought.

"No, it feels weird and she is not mine," Beca breathes out, hoping that Stacie would stop making her say things that make her feel like crap. Fortunately, her friend stops and turns to a waiting customer.

Finally, with Stacie off her back, Beca can now focus hard on working and erasing thoughts of bright blues swirling in her head. At this point, she only has to keep on going for thirty more minutes and closing time will be within reach. She just can't wait to bury herself in bed and act as if she doesn't feel anything like the dead or something.

Several more drinks later and a small commotion with some drunk dude, the costumers start to lessen and Beca was starting to clean up. Just five more minutes and this crazy day will be over. She can just hibernate all weekend, hide from the world and not think about—

"Becs,"

The familiar voice behind her instantly puts Beca on pause because there is just no way is she hitting the quota of unbelievable but dream-like scenarios this early. But then it could just be total coincidence that the very thing Beca is trying to push out of her head is right behind her, again. Maybe it's just someone who sounds like her. Yep, that's probably it.

Nope, it's definitely her.

Because the thing is, Beca would then turn to find red hair underneath a black cap, bright blue captivating eyes staring right at her and a smile that would render her almost speechless. If Beca was questioning the existence of the person in front of her, she'd find her answer in Flo who gasps at the sight of the only customer left in their bar. But before the Guatemalan born female could even bring out her phone for a snap, a hurried Stacie harshly tackles the device out of her hands and drags her away like a kidnapped victim on Criminal Minds.

Sheepishly smiling, her best friend continues to drag an equally astounded and drooling Luke by the collar with them to the kitchen.

"Restaurant's closed, Beca is working overtime and don't mind us. We're not here!" she yells out before vanishing to the back, dragging and pushing the gaping people in tow.

With Stacie and her co-workers gone, Beca looks back uncertainly at the waiting redhead. Her outfit is now different from the one this morning. Chloe had a leather hooded jacket over her dress that ran down to her thighs which she paired with white sneakers. Her hair lightly curled into the perfect beach wave. She just looked so gorg—

"Welcome to The Cloud!"

If there was a point where Beca wished she could just conjure up a black hole to leap into she would but despite being at that certain point, there was just no way for her to purchase a black hole to jump into. It was funny to think how calm she was the first time they met and yet two years later she's turned into the rambling mess in front of Chloe. But then again, two years ago she was at her worst, without a care in the world, face covered in hideous bright pink paint and thought that never in a million years would they be seeing each other again.

Oh how wrong was she.

"I-I mean, anything you want to uhh… have?"

Okay now she's screwed and Beca wishes that somebody wakes her up from this bittersweet dream before she starts vomiting rainbows everywhere.

"You," comes the immediate reply and if again her ears weren't broken, she could spot the small tone of sensuality uttered in that one word. And suddenly the whole room rivals the sauna.

Which is why, if Beca's brain hasn't yet turned to mush, a mixture of every explicit word in the human vocabulary, right now it's doing just that. Had it not for Chloe's serious expression breaking into a smile and evolving into a giggle—that heavenly sound—Beca would have completely lost it, knees, heart, everything giving way down to the floor where she'll pathetically crumble. Somehow the sight eases off some of the tension in Beca's chest as her lips slowly curve upwards.

Maybe the world is ending tonight, so what? Having Chloe Beale flirting with her would be the best parting gift the world is offering so cheers to that.

Clearing her throat and finally taking one step closer, Beca finally manages to compose something that actually doesn't make her sound like an idiot, "That would be very expensive, love. So it'd be best to pick something else," add in that Mitchell smirk for good measure too and Beca had never been happy to put that smile back in the redhead's lips.

"I don't know, surprise me," Chloe tells her with an adorable shrug and Beca is quick to take the challenge. Although a little pressured to give something up to standard with someone like Chloe's tastes, Beca is back to work but with much more energy than earlier. Admittedly, she is putting up a small show in order to impress her guest with the way she was tossing bottles and shakers up in the air before finalizing the concocted drink. It wasn't just any of her usual cocktails. The icy blue liquid getting darker as it reaches the bottom of the martini glass. Finishing it off, she carefully decorates it with a sliced strawberry before presenting it to the amazed redhead who unknowingly is the inspiration for the drink.

It surely has been a while since Beca has been nervous about someone judging her work so, normally her heart almost shoots up like fireworks when Chloe's expressive baby blues light up after a sip.

"Delicious! I love it," Chloe compliments and Beca almost swoons that even she is embarrassed with herself. Obviously, one word from the redhead and it's most likely that she'd do anything asked of her.

Figuring that this is the perfect moment to clear things, Beca takes the opportunity to bring up what had happened earlier.

"Hey, about this morning uhm," she starts, a hand coming up to rub on her neck consciously while her eyes avoid those striking baby blues and finding interest on the shot glasses near her hand. "That was—I'd just want to apologize for acting so strange and you were being so nice. I was really just surprised, it's been two years, three months—not that I was counting—and I thought you'd have forgotten. I usually don't act like that—trust me. Oh and also thanks for the coffee—I know I already said thank you earlier but I just want to repeat… it. So, thank you… again—and sorry,"

 _Smooth, Mitchell, really smooth._

To be honest, she would have went on and on sputtering incoherent sentences if she hadn't felt a soft, warm hand holding on to her own hand resting on the bar's counter. The touch sends a familiar jolt that has her looking up to meet those baby blue eyes. It instantly holds her in place, not giving her an excuse to look elsewhere. There's something in the connection she just can't place. She's felt it before, she's certain. It was a feeling that she couldn't forget. It was the feeling she thought she lost.

 _But how can that be?_

Slowly, she turns her hand underneath Chloe's palm upwards. She feels weightless, like floating on air on some kind of addicting high. The redhead's fingers gently tracing invisible lines on the tattoos of her wrist while Beca's fingers lightly wrap around Chloe's thumb, every hair in the back of Beca's neck standing up. It was like testing the waters and finding that familiar comfort you thought you'd never find again. It has Beca's brows furrowing and her insides turning.

Unconsciously, she moves closer, her eyes falling down to those slightly parted lips. When she looks up back to those gorgeous eyes, her hand goes up, unable to resist the urge to touch the beautiful redhead's face as if she's curiously found something so remarkable. She slowly traces a finger along Chloe's cheeks down to her jaw, along her chin and up near those lips. The invisible pull brings her even closer that she could feel Chloe's warm breath gently hitting her face, her mind longing to know what those tempting lips taste like.

Those two weeks of happiness and those feelings she can't place, that's what she currently feels. And when she looks into those eyes, she knew Chloe could feel it too, that soft gasp hadn't escaped her ears. The effect makes her chest hurt and her eyes sting. But it was just too much. It shocks her whole system that she quickly pulls her hands back, the warmth dissipating as she does. She accidentally hits a couple of glasses that crash down the ground as she backs away, avoiding Chloe's eyes. The realization of what she just did hitting her in full force.

"Oh god—I-I didn't mean to—I'm so, so sorry. I have to go," she mumbles distractedly before rushing off to the kitchen in embarrassment, aware of Chloe calling out her name. On her way, a confused Stacie tries to hold her back but she disentangles herself from her hold and walks off to the establishment's back door, far away from all these confusing thoughts. Stacie can have the car tonight.

She needed air, a space of her own to breathe in as much as she can. Any second longer and she could have exploded. At least, by being alone nobody can judge her for wiping away tears that for some reason she can't place, spilling out straight from her heart.

She doesn't know how but somehow she made it back to her building and into the apartment she shares with Stacie. Throwing off her jacket to a corner, she paces back and forth in her room before reluctantly opening her phone. In minutes, she throws the device on to the bed in defeat, sighing repetitively before heading to the fridge and grabbing a beer. Chugging the bitter liquid down, she crosses over to the small balcony and cradles her head with her hand.

"Oh god, I really am crazy," she mumbles almost miserably.

A reply comes in a soft click of the door knob and Beca doesn't even feel like talking to Stacie since she herself doesn't even know where to start. But knowing her best friend, Stacie couldn't keep herself out of Beca's problems for too long. Well, that's family for you, what else is there to say?

Except, it's not only Stacie who is standing right near the door.

"Jesus!" Beca almost drops the bottle of beer down the pavement as she shrinks at the sight of none other than Chloe Beale in all her perfection staring back at her.

Next to the singer, Stacie raises up a hand in caution, also to hopefully convey that there is no cause of alarm, "Beca calm down, I'll explain," she says in a slow manner like a mother talking to her child at the dentist. But if Stacie thinks it's working then she doesn't know Beca that well.

"Dude! I know we joked about kidnapping someone rich and famous but this is unacceptable—god! And of all those rich people! Also, kidnapping 101? You do not show your face to the victim!" Beca rants, motioning over at Chloe who frowns at the thought—or at the fact that she knew a lot about kidnapping.

"Becs, Stacie didn't force me. I came here on my own—and before anything else, please don't say 'Welcome to my home'," Chloe explains before being interrupted by Stacie who takes away her half-emptied bottle and drags her back inside by the arm.

"We need to talk—I mean you two need to talk, like seriously, talk and bitch, stop running or I'll tie you down and slap you till you get your brain back on track!" Stacie says firmly in a low tone which means she's serious, which means Beca is screwed. Stacie's done it before.

The situation was unbelievable but despite that, Beca could smell that something was off and it's something big. This isn't coincidence. The whole day wasn't just a series of coincidences. Three times in one day is just impossible to be a coincidence.

"Just what the hell is going on? Why did you bring her here?" Beca asks suspiciously, half whispering as her eyes darting from Stacie's mildly exasperated expression to Chloe's anxious fidgeting. Silence follows her questions and this time Beca is certain she is missing something out of this picture.

"Becs," Chloe finally speaks, breaking the silence, her hand coming up to Stacie's arm when her best friend tries to speak. Closing her lips, Stacie doesn't say anything and looks at Chloe worriedly.

"I'm standing here in your super cute apartment to actually ask you on a date, to the Grammy's. We can sit beside Beyonce and maybe sneak out to Domino's or Taco Bell, whichever you prefer, when we get bored halfway through the show. Does that…sound familiar to you?"

Stacie who had been looking at Chloe, gasps and has her jaw hanging open before slowly turning her head towards Beca, eyebrows raised and her face filled with amazement. She jerks her head over at Chloe's direction, her eyes egging Beca to say something or rather say, 'fuck yeah! let's date'.

The silence only grows thicker that you could clearly hear the ticking of the clock and the city sounds outside.

Another second passes and laughter erupts, specifically from Beca's lips. Her head was shaking and her hands waving while the other two females watch her silently in disbelief.

"I know what this is. Is this some sort of prank show 'cause you got me, guys, really! Where are the cameras? You guys can come out now!" she says in between fits of laughter, wiping tears that had formed at the corner of her eye and looking around the room then at them expectedly.

"Oh boy, this is going to be a long night," Stacie mutters, sighing before handing Beca's beer over at Chloe's. "You'll need it," she says softly while the redhead doesn't even think twice and takes a gulp.

* * *

Stacie leaves after another minute when her phone vibrates and Chloe sucks in as much air as she can before breathing out loudly.

They said that nothing can go wrong with telling the truth.

Chloe had always spoke out her heart ever since she was young. She'd always been bad at lying since it easily shows on her face and whatever lie it was wouldn't be a lie for long. Admittedly, show business was what taught her to lie. She had to smile even though she didn't feel like it. She had to say nice words about this and that when in truth she didn't really feel that way. The one lie she always says?

I'm doing good.

She wasn't.

But now, that was show business. In real life? Chloe is as honest as a five year old. Without any filter in her lips as she points out things people don't normally tell you. Her emotions, an open display, a hug when happy, cleaning when anxious, dancing around when excited, singing out loud when she's in love, explosive yelling when she's mad and tears on buckets of ice-cream when sad. But that's Chloe Beale for you, the more she cares about you, the more honest she is with you. Especially, if she loves you.

"Then why did you lie to me?"

Beca's question hits her hard, the impact was strong and it surely left wounds. She had told her the truth—even opening it with a line that would prove that she had indeed swapped bodies with Stacie—and now Beca, despite her initial freak out and obvious doubts, knows. Besides, you can't just make up stuff like that. Only someone who really did spend two weeks in this apartment would know.

"I'm sorry, I was confused, everything just happened so fast and," those were the only words she breathes out before pausing at the sound of the sofa creaking. Beca had finally stood up, eyes avoiding hers. The brunette has a hand on her head as she massages her temples and that is sending bad signals in Chloe's radar. There was actually one more reason why she lied. Another reason that will surely change everything. It's something that could leave her in a state that is even worse than all her past heartbreaks combined.

But as far as heartbreak goes, what hurts most are the words Beca says next.

"It's getting late. You should go home now, Chloe," her tone was so distant. She's never heard her talk like that before, even when they had that fight. This is the Beca everyone outside her world sees, a world that Chloe isn't a part of.

"Becs," the broken tone evident.

"You shouldn't be here," the reply that even when said softly was enough to create such a huge blow right at her heart.

"Why?"

"You don't belong here,"

In a way, it is true. This wasn't her home. This wasn't her neighbourhood. None of the people living in this building were her friends. Her colour was such a striking contrast to the whole picture. She didn't belong here but that didn't mean that she can't.

Beca was walking away and Chloe knew that if she didn't say it now then it will carry on forever. She quickly panics. This could be the end of 'them' so she stands up. She has to at least try.

"I don't belong here or you don't want me here?"

The question hangs heavily and it was hard that she is unable to look at Beca's face as she asks this. Beca had her back turned towards her and so she has no other choice but to have her eyes locked to the back of the brunette's head.

"Both. Chloe I can't do complicated and you're just—everything about you is… too complicated. And I don't need any more of that in my life. We're too different. It's not going to work. This is not going to work. I'm sorry. It's best if we just forget everything, like it never happened,"

And here Chloe thought that nothing else can shatter her in the worst possible way.

Swallowing the huge lump forming in her throat she takes a step forward before opening her quivering lips once more, "I was scared," she choked back a sob before inhaling, "The reason I lied to you was because I was scared that you'd treat me exactly how everyone does," a tear falls freely.

"When you walked up to me that day in the hospital I felt normal. I knew what I did was wrong but coming from a place where everything is supposed to be perfect and clean, coming here made me feel like it was okay to make as many mistakes as you can. I was free," she shakes her head.

"And for once, I wanted to be in a place where I could just be… me. The real me. I was so scared because I really liked you and I wanted you to like me back. For once, I wanted someone to treat me like an ordinary person. But then now I see, I was mistaken to think that you weren't like the rest of the world," she sniffs before walking to the door, hand on the knob.

"Goodbye, Beca,"

* * *

"Didn't I tell you both to wait?" Aubrey hisses, consciously looking from left to right of the hallway outside hers and Beca's apartment. Stacie knew that at this ungodly hour most of the building's residents are back in their beds. Today was a weekday as well and that means the chances of people finding out that there are two top celebrities hanging out in the third floor are very slim.

"Relax, I can already see your nerves popping, Bree," Stacie calmly says, her gaze travelling from the smooth skin at the crook of Aubrey's neck to the worried look on the actresses' face.

"How can I relax when Chloe is telling your friend a story that could get the both of you locked up in some science lab for experiment? What happened to being careful and taking it slow?" Aubrey asks now pacing around Stacie.

Apparently, as Stacie has observed, there are these kind of times when Aubrey's anxiety heightens and turns her into a walking, breathing question. When things don't turn out exactly as she had planned the anxious blonde fires unlimited questions like no tomorrow. Everything just ends with question marks.

Having dated someone who was a psychology major before, Stacie had known that anxiety is never good news. Those who have it know that there's just no escape. It's like a deadly disease that slowly kills its victims. So, she understands and the only way to get rid of it is to probably knock Aubrey unconscious or she could do the one thing she is struggling to hold herself back from doing which Stacie knows is a much easier and effective method. So, her eyes subtly land on those lips before she softly sighs and looks elsewhere.

"Should we be worried that it's just too quiet in there?" Aubrey points out and Stacie looks backs at the door.

"I think we should be because that might mean that I have to go and crash your place since your best friend might be currently underneath the throngs of immense pleasure and we all know not to get in the way of _that_ ," Stacie smiles as Aubrey slaps her arm, disgust written all over her face.

But then before the blonde could say anything, they both freeze at the sound of Fat Amy's voice coming from the staircase. Worse, the Australian was definitely not alone. It seems Cynthia-Rose was with her and if any of those two find out about Aubrey and Chloe the whole building is going to be awake in no time.

Like a deer caught in headlights they both look at each other. Aubrey had neither her cap nor her sunglasses. Given, that she has just came from filming and it's past one in the morning.

With her system in full alarm, Stacie does the one thing that comes to her mind—or the only thing in her mind right now. Also, it doesn't help when Aubrey helplessly blurts out,

"Action?"

Maybe she acted too eager but Stacie quickly pushes a surprised Aubrey against the wall, lips whispering near the blonde's ear, "Act like you badly want me," and before Aubrey could even reply coherently, Stacie's lips silence her. She grasps Aubrey's hips steady as the space between them ceases to exist. And if Stacie thinks that the famous actress hadn't heard her command she can sigh in relief as Aubrey arms find their way around her neck, hands gripping her even closer.

"Don't forget to breathe, Stace. As Beca drunk sings every New Year's Eve, _we will miss you when you're gone_ ," Fat Amy teases as Cynthia-Rose whistles, both clearly oblivious to the person Stacie was heavily making-out with.

But she doesn't exactly comprehend any of their words. The only thing she hears is that soft moan Aubrey makes and intentional or not, it's more than enough to set her whole body on fire.

But as her two neighbours walk closely behind her, this time it's Stacie turn to be surprised as Aubrey's lips leave hers to travel down the crook of her neck—which was a smart move since having Aubrey's face buried down against her skin makes it hard for anyone to know the identity of Stacie's mysterious lover.

If there was ever anything positive about Aubrey's controlling nature it was definitely this. A hand grasping her hair firmly, nails digging possessively at the fabric of her blouse and sinful open-mouthed kisses that demand more trailing down her collarbone commands all of Stacie's undivided attention. This brings her to imagine just how much more of that control would do to her in bed. The thought drives her crazy. Crazy enough not to realize that her neighbours had already entered Fat Amy's apartment for some past midnight drinking. But it just was all too good for her to stop as this time it's her turn to attack Aubrey's neck. Anything just to be rewarded with another one of those delicious moans.

If this was how they'd always be meeting then Stacie demands they meet every god damn day.

But like all good things, everything eventually comes to an end.

This time it's her own apartment door that swings open and in a quick movement she is immediately pushed away by Aubrey, the both of them looking like teenagers caught by a parent—most likely Aubrey's—making out in bed, which was kinda' not far from the truth. Both of them sporting swollen lips and messy hair with chests heaving from lack of oxygen. However, instead of a parent it was Chloe looking broken and hurt as she covers her lips with the back of her hand, tears pouring in her eyes and walking past them like they didn't exist.

"I have to…," Aubrey trails off awkwardly as she motions over at the direction where Chloe was heading.

"Yeah, you should…," Stacie nods in an equally awkward manner, her hands finding something to be busy with, fiddling just about anything from her hair to her jeans. At this point they couldn't even look at each other as silent questions hang heavily in the air—damn anxiety—before Aubrey quickly turns to follow Chloe, leaving Stacie slamming her palm on the wall and hissing a string of curses.

Whatever special thing she and Aubrey had might have been ruined tonight.

Speaking of ruined, there are also other important matters Stacie has to fix as she sighs heavily and makes her way inside their apartment, prepared to kick Beca for doing whatever wrong she may have did to Chloe. By now, she's grown fond of the redhead so, she barges in forcefully in her best friend's room to give her a piece of her mind.

"What the hell did you do this time?" she demands as soon as she sets her eyes on her best friend sitting silently on the floor, at the edge of the bed, her phone in her hands. But when Beca doesn't answer, she continues.

"Do you know how much that girl wanted to see you?" she questions, yet her best friend remains staring at the space in front of her and it is getting really irritating talking to a rock. "For whatever reason you did whatever you did, I don't care. You better have to go after that poor girl and apologize or fix whatever mess you made!" she goes on, her tone as dead serious as she has ever been.

But again, for whatever reason Beca isn't talking and the image surprisingly reminds Stacie of what Beca was like after her grandmother's death. Something's not right and she could feel it. Well, nothing's right about tonight but there's definitely something else she doesn't know.

"Beca!" she calls out and this time she sees movement as her friend sighs and turns her head a bit to Stacie's direction yet, her eyes remained unfocused. But just when she's about to say more, a phone is presented right in front of her.

Frowning, Stacie hesitantly takes the phone from her friend and as soon as her eyes scan the article it was opened to, she pauses. Her eyes darting back and forth from the article to Beca's obviously depressed state. Shortly, she sits down next to her best friend on the floor, still trying to grasp what she had just read.

The words, 'Chloe Beale cancels fan event just so she could visit mystery boyfriend who works at KSCK 91.5' currently repeating over and over in her head. Along with it, photographs of the singer entering the building where their radio station is at.

"But she didn't cancel it, the people behind the event did. Something about some shit the organizers messed up. Today's actually her day off!" Stacie reasons, shaking her head at the false and negative news the press created just to get a scoop. She knows the truth, Aubrey told her. Beside her, Beca reaches out to open another article which has Stacie's frown deepening.

"Chloe Beale, too in love and distracted to face responsibilities, cancels event for a date—okay this is bullshit! Did a five year old write this crap?" Stacie is now at boiling point and believe it or not, it takes a whole level of worse to get her this mad. That 'level of worse' is happening right now.

"There's ten more of those articles. It's probably trending somewhere in social media and you do not want to look at the comments," Beca finally speaks tiredly and Stacie tears her eyes off the phone to look at her best friend.

"So you don't want to hang out with her anymore because of this?" she questions, fixing a pointed stare at her best friend who sighs heavily before opening her lips.

"No, that's just the first of the million more stuff they're going to accuse her with if she keeps hanging around me. Chloe will constantly be crucified for no reason just because…" she blurts out before trailing off to massage her temples and that's when Stacie slowly drops the phone down her lap before twisting her body a bit to face her friend, a look of realization finally dawning in her features.

"Oh god…" she breathes out softly, a hand coming up to her chest as she looks at Beca.

"Beca? Beca, look at me," she says in a commanding tone, her hands reaching out to grab the brunette's shoulders. Reluctantly, Beca eventually faces her and it's plainly obvious to Stacie just what is going on with her best friend. All that's left is a solid confirmation from Beca herself.

"Did you push her away in order to protect her?"

"Well," Beca stops short and Stacie could sense all those pent-up emotions arising. "I know what it feels Stace. People call it stupid articles, I call it bullying, no matter what the hell they say about 'the consequences of stardom'. And you know what? It kills you from the inside out! You know. You were there when I tried to kill myself because of shit like that," Beca says, her eyes travelling to the tattoos on her wrist. Those tattoos were there for a reason and Stacie was the only one who knew. They covered up the scars from the cuts Beca had inflicted on herself so many years ago.

"Words can actually ruin someone's life and Chloe or anybody else for that matter should never experience something like that, ever. She's human too! That girl…" she pauses, blinking back tears.

"These articles will keep her away from what she loves most. She passionately loves music. She creates melodies in her head and dances to them. She even sings when she sleeps! She eats all those kids stuff that are too sweet without even thinking and then feels guilty for eating too much but she'd still end up begging you to buy one more ice pop. With those sad big puppy eyes. So you buy it! She can't sleep in the dark alone. You have to keep the teddy bear lamp on, let her hug you and play with her hair just so she can sleep. She can't kill bugs because she pities them so she runs, screams and hides instead. And you got to go kill those fuckin' insects immediately or she'll start crying and you don't want to see her cry. She's too precious to deserve something as shitty as that," this time Beca is breathing heavily but she's not done yet.

"I can handle it, I've been through it before. They can go ahead and say anything to my face. Hurt me, I don't care. But Chloe? If that shit's all I'll ever bring in her life then I don't deserve her," Beca finishes, looking away as a tear starts to fall.

"Do you know what that's called?" Stacie gently asks as Beca shakes her head, mumbling a shaky, "What? Dumb? Stupid? Martyrdom?"

"No, Beca," she says before turning her best friend's face back towards her in order to fully answer her.

"It's love,"

The word makes her best friend stop as she continues to stare at her.

"You love Chloe enough to sacrifice yourself," Stacie repeats, hoping to drive her point home. So far, it seems to be working as she hears no protest or any of those expressions of disgust Beca makes when talking about her forbidden word. So, she goes on.

"For the first time your heart is truly beating for someone, someone who in turn, is willing to risk everything just so she could be here, with you, because it's you she chooses and now you're letting that person walk away. Forever. Do you get me?" she asks, her hand squeezing Beca's arm.

"If you let that happen then Beca, no amount of negative articles can ever top that regret you're going to carry for the rest of your life,"

It takes a while but when her words finally settle in her best friend finally breaks, tears seemingly endless and sobs painful to hear. So, she does what she and Beca call lame, hugging. Smiling lightly, she pats Beca's back several times to soothe her.

"Alright, look, we're going to fix this Notting Hill like shit and pull out a Will Thacker so you could go get your Anna Scott back," Stacie says and finally she hears a chuckle vibrating out of her best friend.

"I hate that cheesy movie," Beca groans as they separate and Stacie rolls her eyes. Now that's the Beca she knows and not that rock—pebble, actually—she was talking to earlier.

"But hey," Beca starts, sniffing as Stacie glances at her. "Don't think that because I've been out of it lately that I haven't noticed you obsessing over that phone of yours for about a week now," she points out and this time it's Stacie's turn to look away.

"What, I can't use my phone now without being judged?" she asks defensively but Beca doesn't seem to accept that poor attempt of an excuse.

"Right, plus, you don't seem to be hooking up with anybody for, shockingly, the past two months. And I don't think none of your lady parts were damaged from that accident so, who do I have to punch?" this makes Stacie throw her head back towards the mattress, muttering, "Shut up, can't I be single and not in the mood to seriously mingle for two months?" she retorts but Beca continues to look at her in amusement so after a while she sighs and finally meets her friend in the eye.

"Well, maybe it's love," Stacie softly admits but she doesn't get teased or laughed at for it. Instead, they both start to stare at the wall in front of them, heads deep in thought and in a couple of moments, both breathing out at the same time,

"Fuck,"

* * *

 **A/N: Because the Pitch Perfect 3 trailer is out here's a chapter update! Literally throwing this one at all your faces because I just want to ruin the happy mood with this shit. Haha. I'm evil like this.**

 **Kidding aside, the girls are so beautiful at vid con omg! Sendrick is love! And I really planned on releasing this chapter when the trailer comes out.**

 **But yeah, back to the story. Everything is literally plummeting down the ground. Like uh oh Staubrey noooo! Then like Beca why? And then it's like aww now that's why! And then now it's like what now? And I'm like wait for chapter 16 next week you impatient but adorable little assholes!**


	16. Electric

**Chapter 16**

 **Electric**

How I miss _you_ and you're not even mine.

That's what the framed photo Chloe is dangling in the tip of her fingers reads as the camera clicks away. She twists her head a bit to the left, shifting a bit on the sofa she is currently laying, her free hand drooping over her head as renowned photographer, Henry Meisel, compliments her endlessly. How ironic is it that just two days after her heart breaks into a million pieces she is being photographed for a collaborative art-music project on of course, what else but unrequited love as its theme. The photos will soon be placed up an art gallery in New York alongside other photos of other celebrities involved in the project. So here she was, kicking off her designer heels to the side, hair in a seductive messy do, a dishevelled little red dress hugging her curves and dark smokey eyes to match the vulnerable look.

Thankfully due to the theme there is no reason to smile so she doesn't have to painfully fake one and god knows just how long these photo shoots last. To be honest, there's just no one else perfect to project heartbreak than her right now and that's why the famous photographer nods in satisfaction at the images he captures. Probably attributing her exceptional talent as an actress to the perfectly captured images.

If he only knew.

A few more shots and finally she's sitting in a lazy manner, as she was told to do, donned in a new outfit for another batch of photos. Now if he were to tell her to cry, which she is guessing he will at some point, then she's going to effortlessly give him tears that don't end like last night. The only thing that probably bothers her is that there will always be these photographs that captured and will remind her of the pain she'd been through.

Of the pain that is Beca Mitchell.

Even remembering that name hurts.

From across the room, she could feel Alex watch her worriedly and knew that the person he was currently contacting on his phone would be Aubrey. Maybe she should give Aubrey an award for being the most understanding friend. The actress, despite having a tight schedule managed to stay with her all night after she walked out of Beca's apartment. Aubrey's presence had at least stopped her from devouring buckets of ice-cream—before she chokes herself to death with it. Chloe had to admit nobody would have wanted to hang out with someone who'd swing in between crying and cursing—she'd have called it a post break-up meltdown but they weren't even in a relationship so, just meltdown it is. And if anyone asks, no, it's never happened before. None of her exes had made her done anything like this after a breakup. Usually, she'd just mope and cry for a couple of nights and then get it over with. Unfortunately, this time it'll be a very long while before she can completely _get it over with_. How many plates did she break two nights ago again? Anyways, Aubrey deserves an award and Chloe needs to shop for new chinaware.

The photo shoot ends without any hitches and Chloe heads to the Grove with Aubrey. If it were any ordinary day, she'd have joked about having recently moved to a new place as soon as she paid for her order—a whole set of plates, cups, glasses and bowls.

"I'm free tonight. We should go out, relax, you know," Aubrey suggests and Chloe almost doesn't hear her as they walk out of the store, her purchases being carried by the shop's assistant to their car.

"So, what do you say?" Aubrey asks as she stops to face her.

Sighing, Chloe adjusts her sunglasses, "I don't know, Bree. I feel like staying at home tonight," she mumbles, cautiously glancing at the paparazzi lurking a few feet away. Aubrey notices the annoying press and is soon pulling her along to where their car is parked. The conversation only continues as they are in the vehicle, all her newly bought tableware safely loaded as well.

"C'mon Chlo, it's not healthy for you to lock yourself up at home _grieving_ all night and eating ice-cream for dinner. Please, we can maybe get a relaxing massage or something then eat and I promise after that, we go home," Aubrey insists and it's just hard to say no to the person whom you owe a lot to.

So they end up eating at one of Aubrey's favourite restaurants.

And maybe they didn't really intended it to but unfortunately, no matter what, everything is always bound to remind Chloe of _her_. First, the pizza was to blame. Why did it have to be an Italian restaurant? That delicious goodness a certain brunette loved already has Chloe pausing and staring sadly at it for a long time that Aubrey had subtly but not so subtly took the plates away—in case Chloe goes on another throwing rampage. But that doesn't happen because this time Chloe was determined nothing was ever going to ruin her night. Also, because work in the studio has gotten her tired and mentally drained enough to not think much.

She needed to focus on healing herself and living life—before those press release something absurd and fake about her again. But when her song 'Together Forever' plays at the restaurant she finds herself spacing out again and staring at the glass of wine in her hand—while Aubrey subtly but not so subtly keeps the wine bottle further away.

"I have to sing that song live next weekend," she finally says, sighing at the thought. "I'm going to have to sing that song over and over again. And every time I do it's always going to remind me of _her_ ," she softly adds as she places down her wine glass—much to Aubrey's relief.

"I know it sucks," Aubrey gently says, placing a hand on Chloe's arm. "But it's not going to suck forever, Chlo," and this time the blonde gives her a hopeful smile.

Looking back at her best friend, Chloe weakly smiles before turning away to wipe a tear at the corner of her eye threatening to fall. At the exact time, Aubrey's phone notifies her of a message and Chloe observes the way her friend checks it eagerly only to look disappointed before putting it back down inside her bag.

"Not Stacie, I presume," she suddenly says and with the look Aubrey is projecting, along with those lame attempts of proving her assumptions wrong, Chloe knows that her best friend is indeed wrapped up with the alluring brunette.

With eyebrows raised in amusement, Chloe simply answers in a way that has Aubrey going all defensive. "Okay, if you say so, Bree,"

"Look, Stacie and I are just friends—and yeah, we may have kissed, three times—if you count that small peck on the car, but because we had to and we may have gotten a little carried away last time but that doesn't mean anything! It was all acting! You know, when you get so into the character you're playing? It's method!" Aubrey quickly elaborates, even throwing in some pointers about how deep an actress separates her character from herself under the art of method acting. Something which Chloe already knows but she nods along, humming her answer, all the while eyeing her friend knowingly.

"Yeah, method," she answers again, nodding some more as she sips some wine. There's a hint of sarcasm in her tone and she's not even bothering to hide it.

"Well—" Aubrey starts and Chloe knows if she doesn't cut in, her friend is going to go on and on about her preference for men and that she has not swayed to the _other side_ —which makes her laugh out loud, if she just wasn't so tired and heartbroken. A confused Aubrey is definitely hilarious given that her friend is someone who rarely gets confused.

So, she cuts Aubrey off.

"We're friends, Bree. For, more or less, five years. How come we never tried going… _method_?" she thinks out loud, sarcasm definitely obvious now.

The reaction is priceless.

"What? No, that's just weird—no offense. I-It's 'cause the situation's different!"

"Really, how so?" Chloe counters, her head tilting to the side with the challenging tone she used.

"It's because there are people!"

"Agreed. Kissing is totes the easiest _method_ of escape from… the rest of the world," Chloe muses.

"Well, yeah because… because… ugh whatever!" Aubrey sighs in defeat, her form deflating as she leans back in her seat, combing back her hair in frustration.

"Can we talk about something else?" her friend mumbles and this time Chloe lets out a smile.

"No," she breathes out, a small laugh along with it. "If you are going to keep avoiding it, it's not going to solve anything, Bree," she says which frustrates Aubrey more since those words were what she told Chloe once.

Her best friend lets out a puff of air before slowly straightening up to inhale deeply before softly admitting, "I'm in trouble, am I?"

"Trouble?" Chloe repeats before letting out a soft chuckle. "She got you to eat beef burgers when you are, which you must have forgotten, vegan, and for 6 years now! You're in way too much trouble," Chloe shakes her head with a faint smile. Her friend has been vegan since she was 21 and some of it has rubbed on Chloe but not strong enough for her to give up meat entirely.

"I just don't understand!" Aubrey cries out and Chloe sympathizes with her. She herself went through the same internal battle when she entered high school and realized that she had this growing crush on that cute girl who was the drummer for a band.

"I'm still not into women but when it comes to this girl I start feeling _things_ ," Aubrey whispers as if falling in love was so taboo. Yes, Chloe believes that it's love and her best friend is finally getting shot straight at the heart with a love arrow. The signs are pretty obvious enough.

"And the kiss, oh god, it's good enough to make me forget my name," Aubrey confesses, a hand covering her eyes as her cheeks lightly turn pink.

"At least you get to kiss her," Chloe mutters, not really intending to sound so bitter. Aubrey looks back at her and sighs.

"Chloe,"

"I'm sorry," she quickly says. "I shouldn't drag the world down with me," she adds and Aubrey gives her a look.

"You're not supposed to dwell on things that don't deserve even a single second of your attention. We're here to take those off your mind so, enough of that, no more thinking of unnecessary people," her friend say in a tone of finality as she lays both her hands on the table and calls for dessert.

But Chloe knew better and she knew her friend well.

"No, Bree. I really meant what I said," she says, placing a hand over Aubrey's wrist to get her full attention. "I shouldn't drag the world down with me and maybe I was wrong about Beca but Stacie likes you," she says in all honesty. She'd know because Stacie had actually sent her a message last night, worriedly asking about how Chloe was doing and subtly inquiring about the woman sitting in front of her at the moment. It was adorable.

"And you like her. I've never seen you like this before and if there's one positive thing that I got out of the crazy situation I've been in? Stop thinking, this is a job for your heart. It already knows where it wants to go so, let it go,"

A sharp pain strikes at the center of her chest as she sadly says those words. It reminded her of a time when things weren't so… complicated. She thought about Beca's words all night to be honest and maybe this is what's best. She was right, it was complicated. And even though Beca had a career similar to Chloe's to pursue, being underneath her light might cloud over the real potential she has. At least that was what Chloe thinks. Her world wasn't for everybody. People have gone mad in it.

This was the consequences of fame.

Dinner ended in a good note, with Aubrey concluding that maybe she and Stacie really needed to talk about the huge question mark looming on top of them and Chloe finally going back to her empty Malibu home. She sighs as she opens the door, taking in the usual silence before sluggishly walking in. To be honest, she has been seriously contemplating about moving into a smaller property. It was just too big for one person to live in and all that space is just useless.

The first thing she does as soon as she changes her clothes is head to the fridge to take out a beer and a pint of Ben and Jerry's. Sitting on the sofa, she looks around in the quiet living room. She'd never felt more lonely. Initially, she planned on watching a movie but she changed her mind and pressed the remote for her drapes instead. The electronic mechanism pushes back the drapes to the side in order to give her the beautiful view of the beach through the glass walls. It is better in the morning but still the sight of the ocean made her feel calm, even in the slightest.

Opening the ice-cream tub she digs in and leans her back against the sofa, eyes focused far away. But then as soon as she picks up her beer to take a sip a knock on the door makes her heart jump.

Chloe doesn't really get visitors except if she throws a party. It has something to do with the fact that she's rarely at home and most of her friends have odd working hours. So she figures that it may either be Alex or Aubrey. The knocking grows quite impatient and at some point Chloe fears that it could be those annoying paparazzi or some fans that had creepily tracked her address down. Living alone, nobody blames her for being paranoid. She's already experienced stalkers and that has made her extremely cautious.

Being in her cotton boxer pajamas she grabs her coat to wear and walks to the door, her eyes immediately landing on to the video intercom next to the door—better safe than sorry. If only she knew that she was in for a surprise tonight.

The sight of the person standing in front of her door almost knocks the air out of Chloe.

Beca.

* * *

If you have a specific person constantly running through your mind for days but for some reason, unable to see, touch or even send a simple message then it's surely going to cause headaches, chest pains and some late night excessive alcohol consumption. Stacie Conrad is living proof of this.

She had been dubbed so many titles related to romance—by Fat Amy and company. She'd been the queen of seduction, goddess of all human beings, the most powerful living aphrodisiac, and so many more. Yet here she was helplessly pining over the one woman who seems so unaffected by her advances. What was worse is, the tables have turned and Aubrey Posen has got her as smitten as all those people who had thrown themselves at her feet.

In fact, she had done almost everything in her book to make the beautiful blonde fall for her but, even though there is clearly some effect to what Stacie does, Aubrey remains unattainable—damn heterosexual people! To make matters even worse, it's Stacie who's nervous, nervous that she may be coming too strong, nervous that she may be doing it wrong, nervous that she may have managed to scare off the actress. And for the record, the Conrads had never heard of the word 'nervous' before. As a matter of fact, their unofficial family motto, is 'No fear. Only beers and lots of cheers'. Besides, she's never been this considerate to anyone, ever.

Don't get her wrong, this isn't some thirst for a challenging conquest or anything of that sort. Aubrey was just… different. She makes Stacie feel in some kind of way that nobody has. Behind the cameras, getting to know the award winning actress behind that formal façade was like opening layers and layers of boxes filled with interesting surprises. The amount of similarities with regards to taste in movies, music and food between them was just an added bonus.

There were also sides to the control-driven female that has her enamoured. She found it adorable when Aubrey turns into a bubble of cuteness upon meeting baby animals. Having grown up with parents who didn't allow her to have pets, a contrast to Stacie's safari park childhood, Aubrey's excitement to play with puppies, kittens, bunnies and turtles had her feeling like she scored the perfect date. Although, technically Stacie wouldn't call it a date since _'besties'_ don't go on romantic dates and stuff. So, a _'frate'_ then.

In turn, Aubrey had introduced this hole-in-a-wall café-library with good indie music that has Stacie astounded. She's been on a lot of dates. She's even been brought to the most expensive restaurants and bars yet none of those topped this. It's amazing how Aubrey even knew about it. It wasn't that fancy either. It was a typical café but with lots of good books, delicious coffee and certainly good music. All of Stacie's favourite things in one place. But when Aubrey admits that this hidden spot was her secret hangout whenever she wanted to escape the limelight for a few hours and that Stacie was the first person she has brought here, that sealed the deal. Stacie knew her heart has chosen _the one._

Unlike Beca 'the grumpy pebble' Mitchell, she's never been a stranger to love but loving someone whom she hasn't even shared an intimate night with? That's a first. For Stacie, it usually starts with the flirting then the sex and then the romantic date. Most of the time it stops after the sex. But that's before she met Chloe Beale's best friend.

So, when Stacie opens the door, one evening, and finds the blonde female that has been invading her thoughts, she's decided that tonight's the night. She's never really been great at holding her heart back from beating for someone. Again, unlike Beca 'hugging hater' Mitchell, Stacie acts on her emotions as soon as she feels them.

However, that thing called nervousness is creeping up to her again and Stacie fears she might not get to say whatever it is she needed to let out.

"This is Chloe's address," Aubrey quickly says as she hands over a piece of paper towards her.

The words cut Stacie's thoughts short because then that would mean Aubrey came for an entirely different reason and that 'talk' she was planning might not happen.

The paper hasn't even been in her hands for more than a minute when it is quickly snatched out of her fingers by Beca herself. And before Aubrey could open her mouth to probably give Beca an hour long speech on her mistake, one that starts with, 'you listen to me, you insensitive bitch', Stacie's best friend mutters a quick "Thanks" before grabbing her jacket and rushing outside, each step filled with a purpose.

"Okay, that wasn't as hard as I thought," Aubrey mumbles with an expression of disbelief and soon they find themselves standing in front of each other in uncomfortable silence.

For Stacie this could be an opportunity and the clock is ticking so she goes for it. She's always believed in seizing the moment—or the girl, who is most definitely her soulmate.

"Come in. Are you hungry? We have loads of snacks," she offers with a small smile, motioning inside and it's killing her that she can't decipher that unreadable expression on Aubrey's face. Being so good at reading people, Stacie could tell she was thinking about it and for a moment there she felt like she'd say 'yes'. There was uncertainty in there too but she was sure Aubrey's going to say 'yes'.

 _Say, yes!_

"No," Aubrey suddenly blurts out and honestly that was a direct stab to her heart. "I mean, I have this important thing I need to go to and I'm running late so, maybe next time," the actress explains and Stacie can't help but feel like it was a lie. It's ten thirty in the evening and maybe there really is somewhere important that she needs to be but that doesn't really matter now.

Stacie had just been rejected.

It's not like she hasn't felt rejection—yes, although unbelievable, she's been rejected before too but it wasn't this bad. So, nobody can blame her for the disappointment and hurt she is currently feeling. Well, that's what she gets for falling for someone who doesn't like girls as she does. Clearly, it wasn't Aubrey's fault. Stacie already knew what she was getting into yet her stupid heart still went there and took the plunge.

"Oh, that's okay, next time then," she nods, faking a smile despite feeling like total crap. She actually still wants to talk to her about last time though but for fear that what is left of their friendship could possibly be ruined completely, she settles with, "Goodnight,"

Aubrey takes a step back and softly replies another, "Goodnight,"

But as soon as the word leaves her lips the door next to theirs opens with a boom. Fat Amy's howling soon resonates across the whole floor. Along with her, Jessica, Benji, Jesse and Cynthia Rose's loud chatting is heard behind her.

The sudden noise makes Aubrey jump in shock and Stacie whip her head to the direction of the noise. Without even thinking, before Fat Amy and the gang make their way out of the apartment Stacie reaches out for Aubrey's hand only to have the blonde female crash into her. Apparently, both of them reacted at the same time but instead of taking Stacie's hand, Aubrey runs straight through her chest in panic. Stacie loses balance at the impact and takes Aubrey with her. They both fall down the floor while the door slams shut.

Stacie groans painfully. For a second there she thought she's gotten a concussion because of the white spots dancing around her. She feels weight being lifted off her and a pair of warm hands on her face. When she opens her eyes again all she sees is Aubrey's worried face.

"Are you okay? How many fingers?" Aubrey asks quickly while raising two fingers in front of her face.

"Ten," she answers and chuckles at the expression of deep concern Aubrey makes. This earns her a slap on the shoulder.

"That is not funny!" Aubrey says in an annoyed tone. "You could've had internal bleeding somewhere in your brain!" she continues with a glare at the smirk Stacie makes. But before Stacie could reply with a witty remark there was loud knocking on her door.

"Yo, twig bitches open up!" Fat Amy's voice booms from the hallway along with excited chatting coming from the rest.

"Becaw! Stakie!" Jesse yells out loud and Aubrey frowns.

"Stakie?" she asks and Stacie sighs.

"Yup, Jesse and his crappy nicknames," she mutters before they both move to their feet as quickly as possible.

With the incessant knocking still happening, Stacie wastes no time, taking Aubrey's hand and hurriedly dragging her towards her room before pushing the confused actress inside.

"Stay there and keep quiet," she warns before closing the door to her room and rushing back to open the main door. She is greeted by a bunch of ecstatic and excited faces before being pushed aside as they barge in like the wild bunch they are.

"Come in," she sarcastically mumbles before turning around to find them all taking a spot on and around the sofa, which was dangerously close to her room. She eyes the closed door worriedly before facing her friends.

"Alright, hurry up, people have stuff to do here, what's this emergency meeting all about?" she asks immediately, crossing her arms in front of her.

"Where's the small bitch?" Fat Amy asks while opening a pack of Cheetos lying on the kitchen counter. The ones Beca was about to eat when Aubrey dropped by unannounced. Aubrey, the popular Hollywood A-list actress whom she is currently illegally harbouring in her room. Stacie currently feels like she is in a Mission Impossible film right now because this situation is just impossible to be true.

"Out," she replies. Her short answer would hopefully tell them just how much she is in no mood to chat.

"Anyways, Jessica, tell her," Fat Amy shrugs before pointing over at Jessica who is currently popping some of Stacie's Pringles in her mouth. Obviously, everyone just seems to be here for some free snacks.

"We already decided where we are going for our annual summer getaway! Flo has already made the reservations," Jessica excitedly speaks as Jesse lets out a loud 'Yeah!' before giving Benji a high-five.

"And?" Stacie asks, giving them a questioning look, also a look of 'tell me damn it!' as she puts a hand up in the air.

"Girl, you seem tense. Want me to massage those shoulders?" Cynthia-Rose teasingly asks before opening a can of beer with a label written, 'Beca's property. Drink and you die,'

"No! Just tell me where and get out!" she lets out in frustration as everyone pauses in silence, even Fat Amy's loud chewing goes quiet as they all stare at her and her very un-Stacie like attitude. However, just as that very second a sneeze comes from inside her room, definitely Aubrey's, and Stacie almost kicks herself for forgetting just how allergic to dust the blonde actress was—god, all these rich people and their allergies. This time the look on everyone's faces changes from shock to amusement.

"Is there—?" Benji questions hangs in the air as he points over to her room with a funny look on his face which reminds her of the boys in high school.

"Oh," Cynthia-Rose reacts with a slow nod of understanding as Stacie closes her eyes, massaging her temples.

"That's right, my girl is in the room and we're going to have wild sex in every corner of this apartment tonight so tell me quickly where we are going this summer and leave. So she and I could finally do the bang bang," she says in a simple and calmer manner while looking directly at each and every one of her friends.

"Florida, two weeks from now, three days," Jessica answers promptly before they all silently get up and head for the door.

"Have a _fun_ night," Fat Amy says with a wink before walking out the door.

Only when they've all left does Stacie sigh before walking heavily towards her room. Her fingertips reach the knob, taking a minute before slowly turning the handle to open the door. Inside she spots Aubrey looking at a framed photograph on her table. When the door creaks, the actress immediately places down the photograph and looks at her apologetically.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snoop… and sneeze," she quickly says as she motions over to the table but Stacie smiles and shakes her head.

"No, it's okay," she reassures her before eyeing the photograph again. "That's my parents," she says proudly of the candid photograph taken when her parents were still in their teens. Her father, whom Stacie takes after regarding looks, gazes lovingly at her laughing mother who is sitting on his lap, arms around his neck. Aubrey looks back at the old photo before turning back to her.

"You're parents are lovely," she comments with a smile.

"They were childhood sweethearts. My father was the only man my mother loved. Her soulmate, as she always describes him. They loved each other so much he got her pregnant before graduating high school and she never thought twice when he asked her to marry him, in front of her porch, in the middle of a storm, with a drenched sign that already reads 'will u may e?' at that time and mud all over his pants and shoes," she says with a light laugh, fondly recalling her mother's huge smile whenever she would tell her that story, Stacie's favourite bed time story.

"That's funny but sweet," Aubrey says with a smile and Stacie nods.

"She loved art and went to art school despite having me while my father entered the academy, like he always dreamed of," she continues but at that point her smile starts to fade.

"Police academy?" Aubrey clarifies and Stacie nods again.

"He died when I was five," she says before shaking her head when Aubrey apologizes. She has already told Aubrey about her mother. Almost everybody she's friends with knows about her mother. This was actually the first time she's talking about her father. Not because she doesn't want to but because she recalls so little about him. It is only in her mother's stories that he is alive in Stacie's memory.

"Stabbed in the back by his partner who was secretly dealing with drugs. They knew he was too clean to keep quiet about it so… my mother became a widow," she explains before taking the photograph to look at the moment of happiness her parents once had.

"That's terrible," Aubrey frowns. "Please tell me your father found the justice he deserves,"

"He did, even though it took almost ten years for the truth to finally come to light," she says before putting the photo back down and facing Aubrey.

"The thing is," she breathes in deep, her heart rapidly beating in her chest.

This is it.

"You could lose the ones you love in a blink of an eye. You could disappear from the face of the planet in a second. So, you should live with no regrets. Have fun like no tomorrow. Live like it's your last. And love until you have nothing left to give. That's what my mother always says," Stacie recalls with a smile before meeting Aubrey's green orbs with her own.

"I've lived my life that way ever since so before you leave, please hear me out," she pleads softly.

She pauses for a moment before finally confessing,

"I love you, Aubrey,"

This time it's Aubrey who takes a deep breathe, clearly shocked at the boldness and Stacie distinctly remembers Beca telling her that she has somehow this very strong and blunt approach to everything so she backpedals a bit.

"I know, it's a big word to start with. But you don't have to say anything, just listen," she immediately says, hands up in front of the blonde female. "I just want to be honest with you," she clarifies.

"I don't want us to drift apart out of the blue just because it got awkward without any reason at all," she voices out. "And if ever that happens, I just want to tell you all of this because I don't want to think of the what if's or the maybe's," she briefly looks down at her fidgeting fingers.

"I know I seem like the kind of person who just wants to play games, have fun and fool around because honestly, I do those things sometimes but I make sure you know that. I don't play with people's feelings or lead them on. I'm not that kind of person," she explains. "I can be serious and I'm very serious right now,"

"I've never felt this much connection with someone before and that's why I was drawn to you ever since that night in the club,"

"You remember that night?" Aubrey asks in surprise.

"I wasn't even tipsy," Stacie admits with a smile. "Of course I do, you looked really pretty and hot, and someone I might make vegetarian breakfast for in the morning. It's impossible to forget you,"

She remembers turning down people here and there that time. Her sole purpose was to surprise her best friend for her birthday and get her to see Chloe so those two can finally be together. Yet one look into those emerald eyes at the end of the bar, all those matchmaking plans fade away.

And now here they are, slowly becoming strangers again. It hasn't happened yet but with the way this is going they're heading there.

But then again, nobody blames Stacie for hoping that there could still be hope.

"Also, with the exception of the first one, I may have been secretly finding excuses to do all our 'action scenes'," she confesses, avoiding Aubrey's eyes as she does so. "I really like being your friend but I want more. I want to go beyond 'cut' with you,"

"But if," Stacie pauses, bracing her heart for the next words she is about to say.

"But if that's not something you want, then I respect that. I'd still want to be your friend though… but if after this, things might feel a little awkward for you then it's okay if," she puffs out air, letting her words hang while trying to smile.

"I completely understand," she nods.

"That's… all I really want to say," she says as the silence between them stretches. Aubrey hasn't said anything and Stacie fears that the blonde actress might be thinking of ways on how to gently reject her.

Her fears are proven true when she motions outside, about to tell Aubrey that she didn't want to keep her any longer from getting to her important thing and that it really is okay when the blonde female quickly rushes out of her room, the door closing shut behind her and leaving Stacie with her heart crashing down the floor.

Slowly, she sits down on her bed with a heavy sigh before glancing over her parents' photograph. Reaching out to the photo, she traces the frame with her finger gently.

"I really thought I found my soulmate. I guess I was wrong, Mom," she whispers, blinking back tears. She really did thought so though. For the first time, she had finally felt all those things her mother described when she met Stacie's father. But things aren't always going to go where you want it to and you just have to learn from it. Live and learn, that's life.

But damn, it hurts.

She was just thinking of buying bottles of beers when a sneeze breaks out from outside her room. She doesn't even have time to react when her door opens once again with Aubrey coming back in. It was all so sudden that Stacie almost jumps in shock.

"Shit, you're still here," she mumbles, scrambling back up to her feet, quickly looking away to wipe the tears in the corner of her eyes, embarrassed to be caught in her pathetic misery. Her plans of being cool about the whole thing gone in seconds. Despite that, she clears her throat and faces Aubrey. She really wasn't joking about her very sensitive reaction to dust as Stacie watches her sniff. She then holds out her hand in front of Stacie seemingly asking for a second as she pinches the bridge of her nose, sniffing one more time before finally looking back at her.

"I'm sorry," the actress begins to say and somehow Stacie feels bad even though her room was definitely clean, although not as thoroughly as Aubrey describes cleaning but it was organized and neat. And she wasn't even expecting Aubrey to come. So, she shakes her head in an attempt to let her know that it wasn't her fault.

She was just about to suggest that maybe it's best to continue this outside, although she doesn't know if that would even change a thing—the whole building isn't Posen-friendly after all— when Aubrey beats her to it by asking a question that would magically mend the pain in her chest.

"What vegetarian breakfast are we talking about?"

The question begins to sink in after a full minute and that urges Stacie to take a step closer to the blonde.

"It's, uhm, tofu omelette and some toast with beans and avocado?" she says, stopping to think for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, something like that,"

Aubrey tilts her head in thought before slowly nodding as well, "I'd love that," she finally says making Stacie's lips break into a smile. She slowly inches even closer, her hands coming up to touch Aubrey's face. She leans her head towards the blonde female until their forehead's touch.

"So no more 'cuts'?" she asks softly, her heart swelling at all kinds of happy feelings bubbling inside especially when her eyes fix on to the growing smile Aubrey has.

"No more 'cuts'. It's a wrap," Aubrey answers before they burst out in laughter.

When they get serious once more, Aubrey circles her arms around Stacie's waist and looks up into her eyes. "Because I love you too," she says before slowly closing the gap to kiss her.

But then no less than 5 seconds the kiss quickly breaks, much to Stacie's surprise, as Aubrey immediately turns her head sideways to sneeze.

"Shit," she curses before resting her head on Stacie's shoulder and groaning. "I'm really sorry for ruining the moment twice. It's this stupid allergy!"

The apology has Stacie laughing once again as she wraps her arms tighter around Aubrey and softly pats her head.

"Aw, my poor baby. Don't worry, I'll make sure to clean my room three times, change the pillows to polyester fibers, scrub everything from the ceiling, to the floor and every corner with soap and disinfectant. I'll get an air purifier and a hygrometer to measure the humidity, keep it below 55 percent," she assures her, this time making Aubrey giggle and look at her in amusement.

"What? Two months ago at the hospital I may have my eyes closed but I still have ears. You've basically made a diary out of me—well, Chloe, but you know what I mean. Now come, let's go get you some histamine," Stacie says, intertwining her hand with Aubrey's as they head out the room to walk to the door when Stacie feels a slight tug. She turns around to face Aubrey who seemed a little hesitant about something.

"Uhm, I just want you to know that I'm pretty new to this thing—I've never been in a relationship with a girl before so, it's like experiencing something for the first time and I really love you and I want this to be perfect," she rambles on while fidgeting with Stacie's fingers.

"Aubrey, stop," she cuts her off with a smile, recognizing the mild anxiety going in on the females' head. "Breathe," she reminds her and when Aubrey does all she gets is another sneeze.

"Okay, bad idea, let's not breathe… too much," she quickly corrects before cupping Aubrey's face with both her hands.

"What I was trying to say is, I understand. There's nothing for you to worry about. We can take it slow if you want, one step at a time," she gently says before planting a quick kiss on the tip of her nose.

"So, you really heard everything I said two months ago?" Aubrey suddenly asks while Stacie smiles and shakes her head in disbelief.

"A little," she simply says with a smirk as they head out the door, passing by her astounded group of friends like it was just any ordinary night. Fat Amy's biscuits fall down the floor, Jesse's jaw hangs open, Benji wheezes, Cynthia-Rose clutches her chest as she backs to the wall and Jessica's knees go weak as she covers her mouth with her hand.

When Stacie stops to turn around to the frozen bunch she casually says, "Everyone, say hi to my girlfriend, Aubrey," before introducing each one of them to Aubrey.

"Hi, nice to meet you all," Aubrey greets politely with a small smile but when the silence remains, all eyes wide open in shock, Aubrey slowly looks back at Stacie with concern.

"Never mind," she brushes off before lightly pulling Aubrey by the hand with her down the stairs.

"Guys you all saw that right?" Fat Amy finally breaks the silence while the rest nod silently, everyone still staring to the direction the pair went.

* * *

Beca Mitchell.

Donned in her favourite black attire, jacket, shirt, jeans and all, runs a hand through her hair while she waits. The sharp turn of her night has Chloe's feet planted to the ground as her mind races through a million questions. It was only when Beca knocks once more with her eyes finally looking straight into the camera that Chloe realizes how hard her heart was beating in her chest. After everything that has been said and done, those dark blue eyes still have that effect on her. Chloe was weak against it and she hated that she was.

Beca's appearance has Chloe conflicted on whether to open the door or not. She doesn't really want to have to argue more with the alluring brunette but on the other hand she knows that if she ignores it, not knowing the reason for this visit will have her constantly questioning what it was for the rest of her life.

"Chloe, we need to talk," Beca suddenly says from the other side, her eyes solely focused on the camera as if she knew she was watching and Chloe couldn't help but find it weird that Beca was saying her name. She'd been called "Stacie" for quite a while in Beca's world and tonight she finds relief in finally not having to pretend she was somebody else.

So, she finally unlocks the door and opens it.

And maybe wanting to hear Beca's voice again may have something to do with that decision.

"Come in," she softly says as she steps aside to make way for Beca to enter. The brunette seemed surprise at first, pausing as their eyes meet—which has Chloe squeezing tightly on the door's handle—before stepping inside her house.

Closing the door, Chloe turns around, walking back inside and it takes her a moment to adjust to the thought that Beca was currently standing awkwardly in the middle of her living room. Chloe catches her eyes wandering on to her beer and ice-cream which is slightly embarrassing because it kinda' feels like she's getting over a break-up, which is partly true if you think about it, only that said person you are getting over is standing right in front of her at the moment.

 _You're too obvious Chloe_

Sighing internally, she decides it's time to get this mess over with once and for all.

"Uhm can I get you anything? Coffee? Water? Beer?" Chloe suggests, still not forgetting to be a welcoming host despite the circumstances.

Shaking her head, Beca mutters a firm 'no' as she shifts her weight from one foot to another. "I just want to get a few things off my chest," she suddenly says and Chloe badly feels like she wants to run away from the heaviness in the room but she doesn't and Beca continues.

"Because it's so hard to wrap my mind in all of this," she waves a hand around and Chloe remains silent. "I mean, basically I was living with somebody else for weeks because for some reason, you and my best friend happened to swap bodies!" Beca's tone rises and Chloe lightly nods at the fact.

"This story is just so unbelievable that I've been up for two nights just thinking about those weeks that you've actually spent in my home!" this time Beca's face is a mixture of emotions. This was the exact reaction Chloe had been waiting for when she confessed everything. Guess, it had just sunk in and it's exploding right at her living room.

"And I get that you lied, I really do. That shit wasn't a joke but did you know how huge the hurricane spinning around my head was when you woke up at the hospital the first time?" Beca asks, taking one step closer to her and what could she possibly reply to that.

"I have issues too and do you even know just how many times I found myself losing my mind while trying to comprehend everything that has been going on? How many times I've questioned myself?" Beca asks again, her tone rising and Chloe shakes her head, heart even heavier than before.

"Countless times! I've never smoked so much in my entire life trying to deal with all this!" she exclaims motioning over to her.

"And you know what?" she takes another step closer towards her. "I hate it," she spits out and that was it for Chloe. She's had enough but Beca wasn't even done yet.

"I hate you,"

Those words stung her so hard. It hurts like never before so she takes a couple of steps towards the seething brunette.

Lines have already been crossed.

"What? You think I like what happened, Beca?" she snaps back. "It was eating me up from the inside every single god damn day! Waking and sleeping with guilt constantly gnawing at me. It tore me apart, bit by bit! That happened so, happy now? And guess what, I hate you too!" she almost screams out, tears spilling down her face.

"Yes I hate everything about you," Beca shots back, both their chests heaving from the emotions. "You barge into my world without even a warning and leave me with the havoc you created! Every day I try to expel you and everything about you away from me," Beca continues, pointing a finger accusingly at her.

"Then do it! Go ahead! Expel me then!" Chloe challenges, lifting up her arms and that has Beca taking another step forward. The distance between them greatly lessening and being this close was just becoming even more painful to Chloe.

This time Beca doesn't say anything for a while and another tear silently falls down on Chloe's cheek.

"But no matter how much I try… I can't get you out my system," the brunette says. "No matter how far I run… my feet keep coming back to you," there's a crack in her voice as she blinks back tears and Chloe's whole world stops.

"No matter how many reasons I create just so I could keep you away from me, no matter how many walls I build, no matter how _complicated_ ," she pauses at the word, taking a deep breath before exhaling, "I just can't expel you out of here," her hand moves to the center of her chest, right were her heart is.

"I've never felt like this before and that's why I fucking hate you. I'm a fool for you and right now, I still am. I've broken everything I told myself I'd never do, everything I believed in, all because of you," Beca slowly says, a tear finally escaping from the corner of her eye.

"Tell me, how do I get rid of you? Because it's killing me," she says vulnerably. It sounded like she was begging and maybe she was.

"You," Chloe finally starts to say as she exhales.

"Are asking the wrong person,"

She takes one last step forward before capturing Beca's lips with hers, her hands cupping Beca's face. Jolts of electricity immediately course through her veins as their skin touches. The brunette pulls her even closer to completely get rid of the space between them, kissing her back greedily and leaving no room for air but Chloe doesn't care. It's the sweetest torture she has ever tasted.

They part after a while, arms still wrapped around tightly, and foreheads leaning against each other as they breathe heavily. When Chloe opens her eyes the sight of Beca's tempting parted lips greet her and as she looks up, she finds the same desire in those dark blues.

"I really hate you," she whispers but before she could even finish Beca's lips crash into hers once again, all her thoughts drowned out when Beca's teeth gently tugs on her lower lip. The brunette's hand moving from the small of her back to her hair where she grabs a fist full of it, lightly yanking her head back and making Chloe whimper before she trails open mouthed kisses down her neck. She settles on a spot and Chloe inhales sharply as she feels a small sting on her skin but it disappears as she feels Beca's tongue slowly soothing the swollen flesh.

It's going to leave a mark tomorrow.

The air was getting thicker by the second, the temperature heating up the once cold room as Beca impatiently pulls down her coat, letting it fall to the floor while Chloe fumbles to get rid of Beca's jacket. The second they are apart has Chloe thirsty for more. She's longingly watched those lips for so long, never getting to touch, always wondering how they'd taste and feel.

Now she has and it's addicting.

Beca is her drug.

And she wants more.

Pulling Beca's shirt over her head, Chloe throws it away harshly and pushes her against the wall. The brunette grunts before being replaced by a satisfied sigh when Chloe's lips part to tug at the lobe of her ear, her tongue gliding along one of Beca's studded earrings before trailing to her collar bones and down to the valley of Beca's breast, while her hands roam the expanse of skin, tugging and stripping Beca of her bra, her fingers sliding down from her breast to her ribs, down to her stomach. All of it belonging to Chloe's now.

But just when her fingers unbutton Beca's jeans, Beca reaches for her to switch their positions, forcefully pinning Chloe against the wall and hastily unbuttoning her pajama top only to impatiently rip it open halfway, cursing and muttering,

"I fucking hate you in clothes,"

It was one of Chloe's favourites to be honest but tonight she doesn't mind. She'd happily walk in Victoria's Secret to buy a hundred more for Beca to tear apart. The fabric slowly slips off Chloe's shoulders but doesn't come completely undone as it bunches up on her elbows. Beca suddenly turns her around, her warm body pressing Chloe's against the wall as her hand slips inside Chloe's pajama boxers. Her breathing hitches at the contact Beca's fingers make.

The pleasure sends her on overdrive.

She could feel Beca sweep her hair to the side before leaving a trail of hot kisses all over the nape of her neck making Chloe bite her lip in an attempt to control the whimpers trying to spill out of her lips. Her breathing uneven while her palm presses hard on to the wall before reaching out to the side of Beca's head, fingers tangling in brown locks. Chloe turns her head to the right, meeting Beca halfway as they kiss once more. Once the pleasure intensifies even more she lets out a moan against Beca's lips. She feels Beca's other hand move upwards her body, grabbing her breast while her other hand continues to inflict waves of pleasure that has her back arching further to the wall.

She was reaching another kind of high and knowing that it was Beca who was responsible for it was still like an amazing dream. She grips on to the brunette's arm, sliding down to her wrist and squeezing it hard which will probably leave a bruise as she shuts her eyes tight. It was all too much. She cries out the nickname she fondly gave to her favourite brunette as her body shivers.

It takes her a while to recover, to get her sanity back and when she does, she turns around to kiss Beca deeply.

"I hate you so much," she says breathlessly as she looks on to those intense dark eyes.

"Good," Beca replies before adding in a low tone, "Because I'm not done with you yet,"

And with that, the brunette's lips are on her body again, leaving open-mouthed kisses with every inch of her skin, taking her time at the swell of her breasts before slowly travelling downward. Fingers curl at the band of her pajama boxers and soon the fabric slides off of her along with her underwear. Before she knows it, the brunette is on her knees while Chloe throws her head back against the wall, her eyelids fluttering close, a hand on the back of Beca's head as she lets out another string of uncontrollable moans and incoherent words, her body shaking from the intense amount of pleasure like never before.

At that second, she's sure of one thing.

It's going to be a very long night.

* * *

 **A/N: I've given you appetizers last week and now here's the main course. Dessert is next week.**

You're welcome by the way. And I'm not writing anything more _detailed_ than that, you pervs. There are websites for stuff like that. Just keeping it classy.

 **Yuzu-chi01:** **'S** **ticky and soggy marshmallow Beca' ahahahahaha**

 **joshhalber: This is probably that _aggresive_ Bechloe scene that's going to come out in PP3. Ha. A fan can dream.**

 **Also, thank you to all those who have kept reading and lurking around this story. Awkward hugs and disgusting flying kisses to all of you.**


	17. Fuck Me & Feed Me

**Chapter 17**

 **F*ck Me & Feed Me**

Lavender and vanilla.

That's the first thing that hits Beca's senses. The second would be the soft comfortable sheets loosely wrapped over her from the waist down as she lays on her stomach, her cheek pressed on the pillow, her dark brown hair a huge colour contrast to the sheets as it messily spreads out against white cotton. Eyes still closed, her hands reach over to the other side of the bed and frowns when she feels nothing but wrinkled covers and feather soft pillows. She's also naked and cold, and a warm body to cuddle would be very nice at the moment, especially if that warm body specifically belonged to an extremely gorgeous redhead that has her going crazy like never before. But as she opens her eyes, her earlier assumptions were correct. She's currently alone in bed.

Stretching and shifting around to lie on her back, she pulls the covers over her chest for a semblance of decency and slowly sits up. It was only at that moment that she gets to finally notice the interior of the room. The white, cream and brown tones gives this laidback and neat look overall. Most of the furniture was made out of wood. The floor was dark brown hardwood underneath the gray carpet and the decorations made her feel like she's on vacation in the Caribbean. Well, there's this spectacular view of the ocean outside so it wasn't really far from what she imagines being in the Caribbean would look like.

When her eyes land on the photographs on the bedside table, only then does it hit her that she has indeed spent the night in Chloe Beale's home. It's funny how it turns out that somehow she's landed in an unfamiliar position in this certain scenario. Usually, whenever she'd _stay the night_ in somebody's place she'd be the first to get up before the crack of dawn, leave a couple of compliments and never look back. It's kinda' like the proper etiquette or a silent rule for that sort of thing. Today, the sun is shining so brightly through the room's balcony and Beca doesn't feel like leaving. In fact, all she wants is find that specific warm body she's been craving for and go back under the sheets for some serious snuggling.

However, one has to take note, Beca isn't a snuggle or cuddle person.

But then Chloe, oh so gorgeous and tempting Chloe comes along and suddenly makes Beca crave for tight hugs and warm cuddles. They've been apart for two months. Two months of winter—it wasn't actually winter but it felt like it. She's been deprived of warmth for two damn months. Now, would Beca ever tell anyone of all these new feelings inside her chest? Or admit that those things Jesse says about love—which Beca calls 'delusional' or 'unrealistic'—are actually true and felt really good?

Never.

It's going to take a million years before that would happen but then deep down Beca knows something's changed inside her.

Everything is just more bright and colourful now.

Snapping out of her daze, Beca finally fumbles around, searching for her clothes but when she stops to recall the wonderful memory of last night, finding any of her clothes would be like solving a missing person's case. Catching herself smiling like an idiot, she shakes her head before noticing a purple hoodie hanging on the chair in front of the vanity table. Without thinking twice, she decides to put it on. She could smell the scent of Chloe's perfume in it and the comfort she feels is like no other. Eventually, with the exception of her shirt, she finds pieces of her clothing scattered around the place—her pants were lying in the hallway outside the room.

Walking along, an onslaught of memories have Beca smirking and blushing. She notes the corner where she bumped her knee, the tilted frame hanging on the wall where she was pushed against and of course, the living room where… a lot happened.

The first thing that greets her is the delicious smell of waffles that instantly made Beca rub her growling stomach. Walking past the living room towards the kitchen, the sight in front of her stops her in her tracks. Chloe getting busy in the kitchen, wearing Beca's shirt while swaying gently to the music of Closer by Powers softly playing all throughout the whole house. The redhead had her back towards her and hadn't noticed her presence yet.

But the enticingly beautiful sight in front of her wasn't exactly why Beca stopped. It was the thought that had suddenly made its way into her consciousness.

Despite how many times she describes her childhood as a childhood no kid should ever experience, there was indeed a time in Beca's younger years that she was happy, a time when she looked at her parents and wished that someday when she grew up, she too would spend these exact summer mornings having happy, precious moments in the kitchen with the one she'd spend the rest of her life with. She almost forgot about that memory until she found herself standing in front of Chloe's kitchen.

A small realization dawns on her that very second. This was exactly what the six year old Beca wished for. To think that she had held herself back from something like this was now so absurd or the fact that she had stopped believing in it just because she was scared to make the same mistake. When in fact the only mistake she would be making is letting go of all _this_.

But now she's certain, she wants mornings like this every single day for the rest of her life. She wants to be with Chloe forever. It won't be easy, she knew it's not always going to be sunshine and rainbows. That thought still scares her but she also knew, deep in her heart, with mornings like this, all of it is worth the risk.

There's just one more thing left to do.

Without wasting any more time, her feet finally move until she stops to wrap her arms tightly around Chloe's waist, pressing her close to her while she closes her eyes, resting her forehead on the back of Chloe's head and breathing in her sweet scent.

"Morning, Becs," Chloe greets and Beca could tell she was smiling.

She feels Chloe's hand come on top of hers and in between that quiet moment of bliss her eyes start to water so she shuts them close once more, holding Chloe even tighter as her head slides to the curve of her neck.

Having no response and with the suddenness of her actions, Chloe must have sensed something different.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asks softly in a tone of concern before untangling herself from Beca's hold to face her.

"Nothing," Beca answers with a smile as she shakes her head but it seems to only make the redhead worry even more. Especially when she can't somehow look straight at Chloe with her watery eyes, but only because she was slightly embarrassed at the abrupt outpour of her emotions.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Chloe presses on although sounding a bit reluctant, placing a hand on Beca's cheek.

She shakes her head again, placing her hand above Chloe's while the smile on her face remains. "It's nothing, really," she assures again.

"Are you sure? Because if you are having second thoughts and figured some sort of stuff, like this is a huge mistake and other complications that might have something to do with my line of work, we can talk about it," Chloe rambles on making Beca's eyes widen as she finally looks into Chloe's agitated features and almost kicks herself for sending mixed signals.

"No! Of course not," she immediately tries to cut off before effectively shutting out all of Chloe's wrong assumptions by leaning forward to capture the redhead's lips with hers. She lingers longer than intended before slowly parting to look into those bright blue eyes she loves to stare at.

"I'm not thinking of any of those things. I'm never going to make you choose between me and your career. And I certainly do not regret last night. I'm done running away," she says with all certainty, pausing for a second.

"Because… I love you, Chloe," she confesses as she drowns herself into Chloe's stunning baby blues. Beca could feel the heat rising at the back of her neck and cheeks but she had to say it once and for all. Chloe had to know.

The reply comes in the form of arms wrapping around her neck and a smile that reminds her of the sunrise.

"Say it again," Chloe insists in that same adorable manner which Beca finds hard to resist.

Giving in, her lips break into an uncontrollable smile before repeating the words with the same sincerity, only this time she's sure her cheeks are now sporting an obvious shade of pink.

"I love you, Chloe Beale. Will you be mine?" she asks rather awkwardly but she was dead serious and extremely anxious.

But when the smile on those lips widen, all of those worries wash away as quick as it came and Beca concludes that her new hobby is making Chloe smile.

"At least you got my name right this time," Chloe points out jokingly.

"I got it right a lot of times last night though," Beca slyly reminds and takes pleasure in the way Chloe's face flushes red.

"Did you?" she replies in a playfully uncertain tone, her gaze lowering down to Beca's smirking lips.

"Want me to freshen up your memory?" she asks teasingly before slowly sealing the gap between them once more to kiss Chloe.

"One more thing," Chloe breathes out when they part as Beca looks at her curiously.

"I love you too, Beca Mitchell and yes," she says in all seriousness and that's enough for Beca to pull her in for another kiss, this time one that would leave them both gasping for air.

However, Chloe breaks away once more making Beca groan. "Make it quick," she pleads with a sigh. But then instead of saying anything, Chloe hurriedly steps out of her embrace and turns around as if she remembered something.

"No, no, no!" Beca hears her say desperately but before she could ask, the smell of something burnt drifts around the kitchen. Moving closer, she finds burnt waffles inside the waffle iron and obvious disappointment in Chloe's face.

"I'd actually still eat that," Beca says nonchalantly, eyeing the waffles from behind as she rests her chin on top of Chloe's shoulder.

"No, Becs! Burnt food is unhealthy. It can cause cancer,"

"Really? 'Cause if that were true then I'd be dead by now," she says moving towards the side, elbows on the counter as she inspects the damage. "It's still edible, Chlo," she says, looking at the redhead with an 'I'm hungry' look, pleading at her.

"What?!—I'm not feeding you anything burnt," Chloe firmly states before swatting Beca's hand away when she tries to poke at the waffle.

Silence ensues between them as they stare despondently at the burnt waffles—longingly on Beca's part.

"So, pizza?" Beca suggests, finally breaking the silence and smiles triumphantly at the contemplating look on Chloe's face.

* * *

"Like, I get it. On TV it looks so cheesy and overly dramatic but when finally, I got up on stage and received the award I just felt so many emotions hitting me all at once. Before I knew it, I was bawling. It was so embarrassing!" Chloe narrates as they lazily sit on the floor, their backs against the glass doors of the bigger balcony. Around them, opened boxes of pizza and wine glasses filled with soda on the floor of the living room.

Earlier, while waiting for the pizza delivery to arrive, they thought of passing time by talking about travelling around the world— in between heated make out sessions —and imagining what kinds of adventures they'd try once they get there which then led them to crashing in Chloe's massive walk-in closet— the original intention was to make out in there as well.

So there they were, having pizza for breakfast sporting a ridiculous fashion consisting of large beaded necklaces, which Chloe got from New Orleans, hanging around their necks, summer hats, from Hawaii, on their heads, Pokémon sunglasses from Japan, a black Australian souvenir shirt which Beca is wearing while Chloe has the one with the British flag.

Currently their conversation has now turned into a trip down memory lane as they try to remember any of their most unforgettable memories.

"No way, I thought it was because your feet hurt. I mean those are pretty shoes and you look gorgeous wearing them but those high heels—how can you walk on those things and not end up in the hospital or something?" Beca asks in disbelief, mouth half full with pizza as she motions over to the direction of Chloe's closet using said golden award, her Pikachu sunglasses unable to hide the pained expression on her face at the thought of it.

Chloe carefully places down her glass so she can adjust her Jigglypuff sunglasses which almost slips off from laughing.

"The pain increases every hour," Chloe admits. "It takes a lot of practice and experience," she adds while Beca shakes her head. And just before Chloe bites on her pizza, a thought seemingly crosses her mind as she turns to Beca excitedly with a look which the brunette somehow is familiar with.

"Seriously?" Beca asks incredulously as she stares down at what she dubs as 'killer shoes' before looking back at her highly amused girlfriend.

"C'mon, just do it, Becs. For me?" she urges on and Beca ponders on it for a minute only to give in—helplessly—to Chloe's irresistible charms.

 _Why did they even have the same shoe size?_

"Shit, again, how in the world do you walk in these things?!" Beca loudly complains as she holds on to a giggling Chloe for support.

When she steadies herself she looks at the mirror, "I think I get it," she begins before looking at Chloe.

"Get what?" the redhead asks curiously.

"Why some women love wearing high heels. I never really knew why some women love to torture themselves just so they could wear these shoes. This is not comfortable at all and yet you still wear it," Beca points out.

"Because it's not fashion unless it's uncomfortable to wear," Chloe supplies.

"Yes that, and the feeling. There's this sort of feeling you get when you wear them. Other than the fact that the air up here is different, it's like it's a special feeling that makes you want to hold your head up high kind of feeling. It's like a sudden confidence boost, right? I _totes_ figured it out!" she goes on as Chloe erupts into laughter while nodding her head.

"I get what you mean, and I like that you are having this life-changing moment in my closet,"

"Shut up, Beale," Beca retorts before hearing the shutter sound of a camera only to find Chloe clicking away on her phone.

"Oh no you didn't," she says, giving a look of betrayal and pointing an accusing finger at a grinning Chloe. "Delete that!"

She takes a step forward but the redhead didn't seem fazed.

"But you look pretty in it," Chloe shakes her head no, smiling as she starts taking a few steps back. "Maybe I should send this to Stacie. She'd love to see this," she says teasingly.

"Come back here!" Beca says with a threatening look and groans as Chloe runs away with the phone. She would have chased her instantly if it weren't for the stupid high heels. "You're dead if I catch you," she mutters before finally getting rid of the shoes and rushing off to chase a squealing Chloe all around the house.

* * *

"We're breaking up,"

"It hasn't even been 24 hours, and no,"

"Doesn't matter and yes, I'm breaking up with you,"

"No, finders keepers. You're mine now,"

"We so are, if you—Don't you dare—Damn it, Beale!"

Delighted giggles erupts as the TV screen shows the opening of the Universal Studios logo while Beca stares glumly at the smiling redhead comfortably snuggled to her side, head resting on her shoulder and arms wrapped around hers as they sit in the cozy sofas of Chloe's movie room, a huge bowl of popcorn in Beca's lap.

"I can't believe we're watching this," Beca continues to grumble as the opening credits start to appear while Elvis Costello's voice starts to sing the popular love song, 'She'. She eyes the remote control in Chloe's possession. It had been in her hands minutes ago only to be taken out of her grasp unfairly and by unfairly meaning, taken easily while she was distracted by a kiss.

"This is one of my favourite movies, Becs," Chloe tells her and even though Beca hates said movie she has to secretly admit loving the obvious look of happiness in the redhead's face.

"And this is the last time I'm watching this movie," Beca resolves as she finally stares back at Julia Robert's smiling face on screen.

But then Beca knows that deep down, it wasn't so bad. She had a few smiles in between, even though mostly because Chloe knows the movie well enough to mouth the lines and that's just cute, and Beca is content enough to see how her expressive eyes light up with different emotions in some certain scenes.

The truth is, if Chloe were a movie, she would be Beca's favourite movie. One she could watch over and over again, more than a million times. No matter how cheesy and bright, like a happy musical it was.

But again, she's not going to admit it out loud. That's sort of the secret Mitchell code. However, she also knew Chloe is the only one who can crack that code.

She already did anyway.

* * *

"Please? For me?" Chloe pleads sweetly and Beca is certain that she is done for in this lifetime. She has already resigned to the fact that she is a slave to Chloe Beale, no matter how cool she wants to act.

"This is the prime example of abuse disguised in sweetness," she scoffs, motioning over to the grin on the redhead's face.

They are now sitting, again on the carpeted floor, of Chloe's music room—this house just has everything—after creating melodies together with Beca extremely enjoying playing around with the beats while Chloe's voice drifts across the room. It is heaven and Beca could just spend days making music or future hits as Chloe likes to call it. But when Beca's eyes land on the grand piano, she is in for a mesmerizing moment when she asks Chloe if she could play a song with it.

Now she figures that she loves seeing Chloe play the piano and whatever piece she is playing is something that Beca wants to float away to.

But now, other than the fact that Chloe's baby blue eyes are hard to resist, it's Beca's turn to play something for her.

"But I love it when you sing," Chloe insists along with a kiss on the cheek and that's more than enough for Beca to give in—a willing slave indeed.

"Fine," she breathes out after shaking her head with a smile. "What song do you want me to play?" she asks while tuning the guitar.

"That song you made for me," comes the unexpected answer that has her frozen in her spot before whipping her head back at the redhead. A look of guilt passes Chloe's face as she averts her eyes away from Beca's stare.

"Remember that time you let me borrow your laptop so I can listen to your songs while you were rushing to go to work?" Chloe reminds her. "You know, that time when I was illegally inhabiting the body of your best friend?" she elaborates in a softer tone when Beca remains silent, slowly processing the information.

"Right, somehow I keep forgetting that, that unbelievable thing happened and we actually lived together two months ago," Beca finally says before a thought hits her.

Burying her face with her hands, she groans, "Shit, you've seen the folder?"

Her answer comes in the form of sweet laughter.

"Becs, I think it was flattering!" Chloe says, trying to pry her hands away from her reddening face.

"Shut up, this is just embarrassing! I did that two years ago, okay? Two years ago!" she sighs until another memory hits her head. The one where they lay in her bed talking about her long standing crush and throwing out that green joke she made about Chloe. But it doesn't end there since this triggers another memory where she admits doing stuff while thinking about the giggling redhead next to her.

"Shit! Shit! You heard all those things I said about you," she gasps in horror before literally crumbling to the floor, hands still trying to hide her face as her cheeks turned into a deep shade of red, her embarrassment unmeasurable while she rolls to her side, away from Chloe's grasp. "This is so fucking unbelievable," she continues to mutter.

Thinking about it, now she understands why "Stacie" reacted the way she reacted that time. She was just so dumb and clueless to figure it out. Although, in her defense, how in the world was she to know anyway?

She feels Chloe crawl next to her as she softly lets out a string of curses, "Becs," there's a repeated poke in her back and arm but she ignores it.

"Can you just let me sink in the ground for a minute?" she mumbles in a defeated tone. Another giggle is heard and Beca is now begging the ground to open up and let her in. So, she's back to cursing again.

But when warmth encases her from behind, she slowly lowers her hands. Chloe's body melds into her own and she could feel warm breath hitting the back of her neck. It felt good that for a moment she almost forgets her embarrassment.

"If it helps, we've already did some of those things you said you'd do with me and I," she drags the word for a few seconds, her arms draped around Beca tightening as she leans even closer. "Liked it,"

This makes Beca shift her body to the opposite direction, embarrassment completely forgotten as she faces Chloe. Both of them lying down their side as they faced each other. Beca's eyes takes in the sight of the delicate form basking in the late afternoon sunset glow, red hair scattered on to the floor as bright blue eyes stare adoringly back at her. This time it's Beca who leans forward, a gentle hand on the back of Chloe's neck as she kisses her deeply but this time she takes her time, slowly tasting everything and keeping the feeling of this exact moment in her heart.

When they part, Beca welcomes Chloe in her arms as the redhead snuggles tightly to her, head on the crook of Beca's neck, arms circling around her waist and feet tangled against her own. They stay like that in silence for a few minutes before Beca finally speaks the topic they've intentionally avoided until now.

"If we can just stay like this forever then we would but," she stops, her hand moving from Chloe's shoulder to her head, fingers lazily playing with red locks. "We can't. Eventually we'd have to," she trails off as she feels Chloe nod lightly against her.

"I know," Chloe finally says, there is sadness in her tone and Beca feels heavy. "I've had to always share my life to the public for so long," Chloe says before confessing, "I'm not ready to share you yet. It's not that I don't want to let the world know we're together. It's just that the media can be quite intrusive and," she presses Beca closer to her. "Is it okay to keep you to myself for a few more hours?" the vulnerability of her tone almost makes Beca melt so she presses soft kisses on the top of Chloe's head.

"Of course but if it helps," she places her arm on top of Chloe's before wrapping her in a tighter embrace. "I really don't care what they'll say about us anymore. I'll be happy and proud to be in trouble with you even if it means giving up my privacy for good. I'm not going to regret a thing, Chloe" she says confidently, a smile slowly forming in her lips. Chloe lifts her head up to look down at her, her eyes watering and it instantly makes Beca panic—crying redheads are now Beca Mitchell's weakness. But when Beca touches her cheek in concern Chloe's lips crash into hers leaving them breathless and dizzy in the end.

There's a smile on Chloe's lips this time and Beca could already tell that there is no doubt left in her eyes, "Scratch that, I think I'm ready now. I need to brag about how awesome my girlfriend is to all my Instagram followers,"

Beca's lips smile wider, "Maybe in 5 minutes. I'm actually getting comfortable here," she playfully replies and Chloe doesn't argue. Instead, she lowers herself down again into Beca's arms, getting comfortable once more.

"I never thought sleeping on the floor is a good thing until I met you," Chloe mumbles against the skin on Beca's neck. A soft bubble of laughter breaks out within Beca's chest as a memory of them rolling around the hallway drunk enters her mind.

"So did I," she adds softly, fingers running through red locks once more.

Beca stares at the ceiling for a minute and breaks the silence with a new found confidence as she slowly hums a gentle tune. She plants another soft kiss on the top of Chloe's head before parting her lips to sing the song she wrote two years ago. But this time the 'what if's', the 'maybe's' and the longing has turned into sweet promises, morning kisses and more lazy afternoons in loving arms.

When Beca ends the song Chloe tells her that this version is better than the first one and that it's her new favourite.

She agrees.

* * *

"So how do you think we can bring them together and talk?" Beca asks Chloe skeptically as they walk hand in hand up to the third floor of Beca and Stacie's apartment building. It's late in the evening and the lights in the stairway keep blinking which adds to the possibility of tripping so they make their way up carefully.

"By force! But then Bree isn't answering any of my messages and calls since this morning. She's probably filming this new project and it's going to take a while before I could see her," Chloe sighs, adjusting the jacket—Beca's leather jacket—which draped loosely around her shoulders while Beca digs for her keys in her jeans pocket.

"Well, unless we bring Stacie to Aubrey so they can talk during filming break! We could lock her trailer from the outside until they clear their issues," Chloe adds, bouncing excitedly at the thought as Beca stops to look at her.

"What if they end up killing each other instead?" Beca says flatly. "Or kill us for locking them up. Aubrey Posen doesn't seem to like me, for your information," she adds, remembering the look of pure coldness she was given when the actress stopped by the other night in their apartment. Beca figures she would rather be surrounded by deadly terrorists than confront a seething Posen.

"Or they could finally confess their feelings for each other and eventually thank us for locking them up together on their wedding day!" Chloe suggests, positive that the outcome would turn in their favour.

"Fine," Beca exhales, giving in to the positive bubbles Chloe is blowing her way. "But first, we have to make sure that we say the right thing. Stacie might not want to go—which will be so unlike her but she's been unlike herself since Aubrey _messed_ her up—so I think it's best if we come up with a good excuse for her to go,"

"So basically we need to come up with a lie?" Chloe asks, cocking her head to the side as if brewing a string of possible lies to say.

"A white lie, Chlo, but you need to be the one to do it—I know you hate it and I don't really want to put you in that position, again, but if we are going to go with that plan, you need to do the talking. Stacie knows when I'm lying, unfortunately," Beca mutters, shaking her head.

"Or we could go for the truth and drag her to the filming site? We'd need more people to help us though. Those long legs are deadly when attacked," she shivers at the thought.

"Know what? Whatever happens we got this," Chloe says with a snap of her fingers. "This is for their own good, right? I mean, they'll be both end up being miserable if we don't do anything. They'll end up dragging us down with their misery and Aubrey is actually worse than me when it comes to love! Also, since you and I are together, eventually they'd be seeing each other,"

"And that's going to be totes awkward," Beca says with dread, frowning at the horrible thought. "If this plan is not going to work, Stacie's going to be bringing home different lovers every night to get over her heartbreak and I won't be able to sleep properly or use the sofa, the bathroom and the kitchen ever again!" Beca groans before suspiciously glancing at the door.

"Now I'm kinda' afraid to step inside. Maybe I should call first," Beca says, releasing the door knob to get her phone from her back pocket.

She feels Chloe stepping closer to her side, her arms coming around Beca's waist, "That doesn't entirely seem like a bad thing. You can… come back home with me instead?" she whispers in Beca's ear before placing open-mouthed kisses along the curve of her neck. It almost makes Beca drop her phone as she smirks at the idea and the satisfying gesture.

She hums in reply before turning her head towards Chloe and meeting her halfway. She'll probably never get over how lucky she is to be kissing Chloe Beale as much as she wants. "I think you're right and Stacie's not answering her phone so," she mumbles in between kisses, lowering the phone from her ear, the rest of her sentence easily fading away.

But before Beca forgets that they are currently standing in the hallway and start taking things up a notch, the door next to theirs open and Fat Amy with the rest of their friends walk out. Loud talks and jokes about their upcoming summer getaway coming to an abrupt halt as they notice the female in Beca's arms. Silence immediately covers the group as their mouths hang open, eyes growing wide and bodies frozen in place—Flo points at her while looking back at their friends as if proving her story earlier while Ashley faints in a corner.

"Hey guys, oh, this is my girlfriend, Chloe, by the way," Beca nonchalantly says as Chloe gives a friendly smile and a wave. The redhead's arms now hooked around Beca's neck, bodies still pressed against each other as they stand closely.

"Fat Amy, Jesse, Benji, Cynthia-Rose, Flo, Jessica and Ashley, right?" she says, pointing at each one. "Beca's told me so much about you guys," Chloe continues happily as she looks at one person to another. But when the group stays stunned in silence, Beca reaches for the door knob before facing her friends once more.

"Okay, so, this was a nice chat. We're going… inside now. Night, weirdos," Beca says awkwardly with a nod as she starts pushing a grinning Chloe inside.

"We should hang out sometime! Do body shots and play some card games, maybe?" Chloe suggests enthusiastically before Beca completely pushes her in the apartment and locks the door behind them.

"No hugging in the hallway remember?" Beca hisses as Chloe pouts.

"That rule is still alive?" she whines and before Beca comes up with a reply she stops short, shocked eyes looking pass Chloe.

Chloe seems to have noticed the abrupt change and turns around to follow Beca's line of sight only to gasp at what she sees.

A puppy.

A squeal of delight erupts from the redhead as she gets on her knees to reach out to the little white fluffy puppy. It looks at them both curiously before moving closer to Chloe's outstretched hand, sniffing it before moving even closer. Beca watches silently as the puppy wags its tail happily when Chloe starts scratching the back of its ear.

"Becs, you got a puppy? I thought pets weren't allowed here?" Chloe asks, now carrying the puppy in her arms.

"They aren't that strict about it and that's not a really the question here. What is, is that I've never seen that puppy in my life before," Beca says before her eyes finally notice a change in the whole apartment.

"Also, there's a lot of green, Chloe. Why is there so much green? Have I spent years at your place that I haven't realized that time has passed so quickly and now plants started sprouting out of my apartment?" Beca rambles as she looks around at the potted flowers decorating the some parts of the living room and kitchen. That, and the sparkly clean place which has Beca doubting whether or not she entered the right building.

"Or maybe Stacie bought them along with this adorable baby!" Chloe gushes, attention focused solely on the little puppy in her arms and Beca mentally reminds herself to get Chloe a puppy in the future.

"Well, if she did then I'm pretty sure she's gone mad so I think you should call Aubrey quickly and tell her that we have a life and death emergency crisis going on," Beca mutters.

"It can't be that bad, Becs," Chloe says in a hopeful tone but before Beca could insist further that Stacie had sworn to buy plants and adopt pets if, and only if, she marries her soulmate, the bathroom door swings open to reveal a towel clad Stacie, hair damp and skin slightly glistening from the tiny droplets of water dripping from her arms.

The leggy brunette had stopped short at the sight of them both standing in the middle of the room but before the questions pour in Aubrey follows shortly, hair equally damp as she rubs a towel through her blonde locks and walks out in only what Beca recognizes as Stacie's oversized shirts. The actress bumps into Stacie and only then does she realize the two other people in the apartment.

Four pairs of eyes look at each other in shock, disbelief and confusion, the silence stretching the awkwardness in the room with every second and Chloe, who hates awkward pauses the most, opens her lips to finally break the uncomfortable atmosphere.

"Bree, I've been calling you since this morning," she starts before realizing that she doesn't exactly know what to say next. Apparently, she is itching to ask a thousand questions but doesn't know exactly which of those burning questions to pick first.

Her best friend on the other hand, has her cheeks rivalling the colour of tomatoes as she stands next to Stacie who is currently biting her lips in an effort to stop the grin wanting to break from her lips, "U-uh I was uhm… busy," Aubrey says while Stacie snorts at the excuse.

"Yeah we can see that," Beca mumbles before covering the puppy's eyes and whispering in its ear. "You'll understand when you get older, buddy,"

* * *

The door closes behind Chloe as she continues to eye a still very embarrassed Aubrey in a manner that makes the blonde wish to take up residence in Mars instead. They are currently in Beca's room and Chloe's eyes are wide and full of life, her mouth unable to close as she walks up to her best friend.

"Oh my god!" Chloe lets out in all exaggeration as the blonde covers her eyes with her hand, her head hanging low as she sighs.

"Aubrey Posen being all naughty! Never had I imagined that I would see the day!" Chloe exclaims, holding both Aubrey's arms with her hands as she shakes her gently.

"I don't know what you are talking about," Aubrey replies in a very unconvincing tone, her eyes still avoiding Chloe's.

"Oh, you so do! You sneaking in the middle of the night to see Stacie and then somehow decided to _decorate_ the apartment. You! I-don't-like-girls-that-way, you!" Chloe points out in a disbelieving tone.

"I still don't!" Aubrey cuts in quick before confessing, "Only Stacie. She's not like… the rest,"

Her words carry a meaning that has Chloe's smile rivalling the sun as her lips curve widely.

"Know what?" she starts as Aubrey brings her gaze back to her. "I finally approve of this one, and if you must know, it's a hundred and one percent approval," she nods and this time its Aubrey's lips that break into a smile.

The redhead then hugs Aubrey, "I'm happy for you, Bree. You deserve it,"

The reply comes in a tight hug and a light chuckle, "Hey, I don't think I'm not the only one with something to explain," she says in a teasing tone as they break away but Chloe doesn't let her have fun with it.

"I spent the day with my girlfriend, so what?" she shrugs as if it's such a normal thing to say. It makes Aubrey's mouth hang open though.

"I don't think I want to know what you guys did all day," she says and Chloe feigns an offended look.

"Hey! We had a really normal but innocently fun day unlike you two. You guys apparently had a different kind of _fun_ ," she teases back, earning a shove on the arm.

"Shut up, Beale!" the move is followed by bursts of laughter.

* * *

"Stop, you're making me dizzy," Stacie says in an unamused tone as she eyes Beca walking back and forth in front of her. The taller brunette was now sitting in her bed, cross legged and this time fully clothed while Beca paces around, carrying the puppy in her arms.

"There are plants outside this room," Beca states the obvious as Stacie looks over at the door.

"Plants are good for the health, Beca,"

Her words make Beca abruptly stop and stare at her hard.

"What? Do I have shit on my face?" Stacie asks, instinctively leaning back a bit with a frown.

"No, for a moment there I thought you and Chloe did the swap again," Beca breathes out in relief. "You almost sound like her—and don't give me that health crap, you don't just buy plants, turn our house into an environment babies would love and adopt a puppy out of the blue, Stace!"

"I like plants, we need an air filter to get rid of the dust in order to inhale properly and how could you not be in love with Prince Andrew? Look at that face!" Stacie defends, looking at the puppy who doesn't seem perturbed at all as he starts to sleep in Beca's arms. Silence follows as Beca continues to eye her accusingly which then gets her to add, "Also, Aubrey loves puppies and Maltese's have hypoallergenic fur which is perfect since she has allergies," she admits.

"Oh I can't wait to see what you give her next. Your mother's diamond ring perhaps?" Beca questions sarcastically and that makes Stacie look up at her, reminding Beca of a guilty child being asked to confess her mistakes.

"Okay, say, I open your drawer right now, would I find that ring sitting comfortably in its box, ready to be given to its newest owner?" Beca asks as her eyes travel to Stacie's table. Beca knew that the said ring had been kept and hidden in the depths of Stacie's closet in a bigger box where some of her mother's things are preciously stored.

Stacie doesn't answer and when Beca suddenly moves towards the direction of the drawer, hand reaching out to pull its handle only does her best friend jump.

"No—!"

Stacie's protest cut short when Beca lifts up the box in question, shaking it in front of Stacie's face.

"Explain," the tone Beca uses is deep and low, making Stacie know that she is dead serious about it.

"What else can I tell you? She's the one," Stacie says in equally dead serious certainty that almost scares Beca. Because when Stacie decides to go for something she goes for it without a doubt in the world. It also doesn't help that never has the leggy brunette had marriage ideas with her past serious relationships.

"How can you be so sure of that?" Beca asks in a ridiculous tone.

"I'm sure as you are with Chloe," Stacie answers without missing a beat and that gives Beca a shock, enough not to immediately come up with a better reply to that.

"I love Chloe and… yeah I'd marry her in the future. Not _now_. I mean, this is marriage we're talking about here, Stace! You haven't been together that long. What's the rush?" Beca sputters while Stacie remains calm, too calm for Beca, actually.

"My heart stopped beating, twice when I was going through surgery in Chloe's body. That's how unpredictable life can be, Beca and I'm not wasting any second of it. That's why I don't care about the length of time or whatever. I'm going to propose next month on my father's birthday and you are going to be there when I ask the question. You are then going to stand behind me on my wedding day and propose a toast at the reception so prepare a speech with less sarcastic remarks and more love in it, okay?"

Beca's face softens at Stacie's words, her eyes falling down on the box in her hand, "You love her that much?"

"Yes, I do,"

"And you're so sure about this?"

"More than anything in the world," Stacie answers with all sincerity. Another round of silence ensues as Beca seems to contemplate on her best friend's answers. Finally, after some time, she carefully hands over the box towards Stacie and sighs.

"Don't make me wear pink and high heels or I'll share your embarrassing stories when I make my toast," Beca warns as Stacie nods, a smile threatening to break into her lips.

"You know," Stacie begins when Beca starts to head towards the door. "You could have just told me you were worried about me like the sweet _little_ sister you are and want only the best for me, _Becs Becs_ ," Stacie teases with the nickname she most definitely got from Luke.

"Nope. That's disgusting. I'm only half convinced about this whole thing. Now, I'm going to talk to your clueless bride to be, see if she has what it takes to be a Conrad," Beca corrects her, a hand on the door knob.

"Talk or _threaten_?" Stacie asks, arms crossed in front of her with a piercing stare aimed at the shorter brunette.

"I'm taking out the handcuffs and the lie detector test," Beca answers, quickly escaping the room with Stacie and Aubrey's fur child, Prince Andrew— _like who even names their dog Prince Andrew?_ — before she gets hit by a pillow.

* * *

"I'm sorry Chlo but I don't think Aubrey and I will ever get along," Beca mutters as she feels Chloe's chest shake with laughter.

They are now lying down on Beca's bed after what feels like the funniest dinner ever. Beca and Aubrey had talkedprivately and both Stacie and Chloe felt like the universe exploded when they did as they sat at the sofa, munching on chips, playing with Prince Andrew and wondering when they should break in to pull them back into their own corners. Both had finally came out after a tense 30 minutes, looking like they are plotting their own deaths but remaining civil for the sake of their beloved friends. In between dinner they constantly threw invisible daggers and warning glances at each other leaving Stacie and Chloe trying to set up an invisible wall between them by chatting just about anything in life.

"I'm serious!" Beca adds and Chloe nods.

"But it's funny because you and Aubrey sort of are so alike in a way," the surprising statement makes Beca react.

"What? We are not!" she adamantly insists.

"Yes, you both are! You're both so loyal to the people you care about. To the point where you'd both be prepared to either go wage war or sacrifice yourselves in order to protect the ones you love. You're both very passionate in your craft. Both very stubborn at times. And most importantly, you both act so tough but in reality are total softies deep down," Chloe mentally lists.

"I'm not a softie," Beca quickly corrects her and Chloe shakes her head as she observes how gentle Beca runs her hands along Chloe's hair, how cute she looks wearing one of her oversized jersey shirts, and the refreshing youthfulness of her bare face. Not to mention the fondness Beca has for Prince Andrew.

But then Chloe doesn't bother adding further proof to that obvious fact and instead, plants a lingering kiss on Beca's cheek before resting her head closely to the brunette's. Beca silently intertwines their fingers together, bringing their hands towards her stomach before turning her head towards Chloe, looking back at those eyes that never cease to make her heart skip a beat. In a moment, Beca leans closer, Chloe's lips only a breath away from hers. It takes just a slight move until Chloe ultimately closes the gap, her other hand coming over Beca's cheek. They part after a minute but remain close to each other. Beca's lips then curve in a rare genuine smile that this time makes Chloe's own heart skip a beat.

"Come with me?" Beca softly asks.

"Where?" Chloe asks curiously as she pulls back a bit to look into Beca's eyes.

"Norway,"

The answer has Chloe smiling widely before squeezing Beca's hand. The brunette then pulls her close, wrapping her arms around to press them closer to each other.

"I'd love to," Chloe answers before noticing something.

"Becs?"

"Chlo,"

"You know that there are enough pillows for you to hug, right?" Chloe asks, smile never fading from her lips as she feels Beca snuggle even closer to her, arms, legs tangled protectively over hers, leaving no room for her to escape, if ever she tried, which she wasn't going to. It was the last thing she'd ever do at the moment, honestly.

She feels Beca's lips move against her neck as the brunette sleepily mumbles, "Shh. I think I heard a noise outside. Must be aliens,"

Totally _not_ a softie indeed.

* * *

 **A/N: Dessert served.**

 **Good god, we are already on Chapter 17?! Time flies so fast, doesn't it? So, what's going to happen next? Can you guess? Will Prince Andrew make another cameo on Chapter 18? Will Beca finally admit that she's a softie? When will Beca and Aubrey get along? Will Stacie make Beca wear pink and high heels? Will Chloe ever stop smiling when with Beca? Will I release an update next week? What are we having for breakfast tomorrow?**

 **Meanwhile, I'd like to thank those who have read, followed and favorited this fanfic. Also a big extra thank you to those who took time to write comments, all of it is a much appreciated. It's lovely to hear some feedback in every chapter :)**


	18. I Love You Always and Forever

**Chapter 18**

 **I Love You Always Forever**

Explosive.

If Beca Mitchell would sum up her life these past six months, it would be that word. Does she hate it? Well, there are moments, yes, that she finds it exhausting but she also has to admit, she wouldn't want it any other way. She may never walk around without having to wear anything that would help make her invisible—hopefully—and cast her eyes down her shoes as people start to stare in recognition and whisper excitedly towards her, order at a restaurant without having to be asked if she was _the_ 'Beca Mitchell', ride public transportation without having people take out their phones, thinking that they are being discreet but not really, and most certainly be unable to avoid the sudden interrogation of the paparazzi lurking around her neighbourhood, waiting for her to step out of her apartment just to ask the most absurd questions about a very famous certain someone. But despite almost wanting to punch one of those obnoxious monkeys when they mention something Beca knows isn't true or doesn't like, she knew it was part of it all. She knew what she was walking into months ago when she made her decision.

One she did out of that thing called _love_.

So, ignoring them, Beca just keeps going. Going at the same route back home, going to the same places she hangs out at, going forward, past reporters or basically everybody and everything that tries to block her way because this is what she chose.

She chose _love_.

"Skywalker!" she yells out towards Luke who seems busy getting a lady's number at the end of the bar. A smirking Luke finally spares her a glance after three agonizingly slow seconds, showing her a table napkin with a set of numbers towards her. Beca rolls her eyes, sighing at the very familiar scene in front of her.

"I got to go," she says, pointing at the clock which read 7:55 in the evening as she impatiently hurries past him to the back of the bar, untying her hair and doing quick touches to her face as she looks at the mirror hanging on her locker.

"Dude, I'll let you borrow my bike but you have to promise me that you'll bring my baby back home safe and sound," Luke reminds her for the millionth time as Beca slams her locker shut and puts on her favourite black leather jacket, her most prized possession. A gift from the most special person in her life right now, the person she is rushing to get to tonight.

"I will," she exhales heavily, like a teenager being given a ton of reminders before heading off to a party.

"No scratches, Beca, please," Luke says, blocking her way in a quick motion. He sounds close to pleading and begging on his knees while Beca groans in annoyance.

"No scratches, okay, got it! Now can you please step aside because I'm seriously running late," she says, her voice close to being as desperate as he sounds.

"Good, now hurry, you really are running late," he points out when he glances at the clock hanging at the kitchen. "Like extremely late,"

Beca hastily runs out but not before grabbing the beautiful bouquet of flowers, a combination of different shades of violet and white roses. She ties the bouquet securely at the back, placing on her helmet and sliding down the protective glass before revving up the engine of Luke's customized black Harley and driving off towards her destination. Of course, before anything else, she had to make a quick stop along the way. In a couple of minutes, she hurries out of one of her favourite pizza parlours, a decent sized pizza inside a carrying bag hanging on her wrist as she finally starts off to the Los Angeles Staple's Center.

The only thing running through Beca's head?

Rush hour is a bitch.

She weaves her way in and out the congested roads, made even more worse by a minor accident—of all nights—causing much more delay than she expected. After spitting her billionth curse word, she finally makes it to the entrance. But when one of those annoying people with flashing cameras spot her, she berates herself for forgetting about that one important fact and makes a quick turn towards the back VIP entrance. She stops in front of security and fumbles for her VIP pass when she hears her name being called.

"Beca!—She's with us, let her in," Alex commands the security before hurriedly pulling her with him. She jogs around the long numerous backstage hallways with Alex literally dragging her by the arm, all the while being reprimanded for being late.

"I'm really sorry, Lex but have you seen the traffic outside? It was being the biggest anti-fan!" she quickly reasons out, her eyes anxiously glancing down at the flowers and the box she is carrying, quickly checking if all is still intact. Fortunately, it still is.

By this time, Beca nears the doors at the back of the main stage, she hears loud cheers and the familiar blaring beats, one of the many which she _messed_ around with a couple of months ago. Apparently, they loved the _mess_ she made enough for her name to end up at the credits and labelled her as producer—noisy, messy, hungry, distractingly awesome producer as Beca jokingly describes it.

Breathing in deep, she feels her heart beating to the rhythm as the excitement builds up in her chest. As soon as Alex opens the door, her lips tug into a proud smile.

* * *

Exhilarating.

That's what Chloe Beale feels tonight as the sparks shoot up brightly on her very own stage. She hits the notes perfectly as she rehearsed. When she pauses for a second it is followed by a sick beat drop and the deafening sound of the crowd going wild. Every fibre of her body feels like it's on fire with the way her blood is rushing to her veins. The feeling isn't foreign to her. As a matter of fact, she considers this as one of the best feelings in the world. Giving herself away to the beat, she jumps up and down along the connected ramp towards another small stage near the center of the crowd.

When Chloe thinks of the past six months she's had, she considers it to have that same exhilarating feeling she feels whenever she is on stage, maybe even better. And even though those past six months have been the noisiest she's ever had in her career with her face and name constantly in tabloids—in big bold angry letters including excessive amount of exclamation marks at the end—and absolutely any form of media, she still wouldn't have it any other way. She'd go through the whole thing all over again, if given a choice. Because despite her much more intense life under the spotlight—much more than ever before—Chloe would still consider these past few months to be the happiest she's ever been.

So, she keeps going, moving forward, past the unending strings of intrusive questions, inquiries and the constant judgement from the whole world and into the place where her heart wants to be, home.

She chose this. She chose love and not even a miniscule of a second does she regret it.

At the thought, Chloe's eyes wonder at the same spot it has been wondering over at since the beginning of the first night of her concert, the audience's VIP section. Aubrey, Stacie, Fat Amy and their whole gang of misfits who've jokingly called themselves the 'Chloe Beale Paid To Cheer Squad' illegally brought their own crazy banners of funny encouraging phrases or rather questioningly absurd phrases—much to Aubrey's disbelief—like, _'I'm chart-topper Chloe Beale's prettiest friend. Call me number below,', 'Goddess Chloe, buy me Lasagna!'_ and _'Chloe. Love you! Please sign my butt'_. The sight was enough for her to smile and bite the inside of her cheek from laughing out loud when she first saw it. They don't even make it any easier for her as they are always the first to cheer loudly and passionately in every song—literally every song—as if they were at some civil rights protest or something.

But then that's not the only reason why she keeps an eye over at that certain area near the stage. It was the missing person in the group whom until now hasn't showed up. The most important person, actually. She could even see Aubrey constantly glancing towards the entrances near their area, her shiny engagement ring visible on her finger which she keeps twisting whenever she gets impatient or anxious in order to calm herself, while Stacie, who is standing next to her, religiously checks her phone in between taking videos and photos. Chloe would be lying if she said that it wasn't bugging her. In between concentrating in every set and executing perfectly practiced choreography, the worried thought keeps trying to bring down her energy. Especially at this point of her concert.

"This next song is my most favourite song in the album," she starts, trying to control her heavy breathing from the growing exhaustion from earlier, sweat dripping down the side of her neck under the heavy spotlights. She had now walked back to the main stage, running her hand through the outstretched hands of her overly excited "squad". Her tone has gone into that of something close to being emotional. The only thing she prays for is that she won't completely lose it and give in to her overwhelming emotions tonight.

"I created it with a special person in mind," she shares, although the media had already speculated about it when she first released the hit single a couple of months after the accident. With that, the crowd starts screaming in delight at the official admission.

Yes, this is her official admission to the public after 6 months.

Chloe's lips break into a meaningful smile, her eyes averting downwards as she feels the heat creeping up in her cheeks. She adjusts her earpiece before continuing.

"The person whom I met in the most unexpected time, the most unexpected place, in the most unexpected way," she lets out a small laugh at the memories, carefully choosing her words and slowly emphasizing them with all sincerity.

"So, to the person whom my heart wants to be _together forever_ with," she finally says as the crowd goes wild at the mention of the popular phrase, the title of what is probably her most successful hit. She finally lifts her head up high, taking one huge breath before adding, "This one's for _her_ ,"

The familiar intro starts as Chloe lifts up her microphone once more to sing the first line of the song. She could hear the crowd singing with her and it was such an amazing sound to hear. She closes her eyes to the chorus, the image of dark deep blue eyes, smirks and genuine smiles only reserved for Chloe to see. She sings her heart out towards the bridge and that's when she catches violet flowers in the corner of her eye.

Standing at the side of the stage, along with Alex and the staff managing the concert, stood Chloe's special person, chest heaving and smile growing at the eye contact they make. With all her worries fading away as if they never were there in the first place, Chloe's focus doesn't falter as her eyes remain glued to _her_. The brunette she'd been waiting for all night, nods her head appreciatively to the beat and even sings the lyrics with her.

But then as the crowd cheers louder than ever, Alex nudges said brunette who then notices the massive LED live screens hanging up at the stage, all six of them displaying her face except the biggest one in the middle which is solely focused on Chloe. She instantly lifts up the bouquet to hide herself in the most Beca-like awkward fashion, her body shaking up and down with laughter in disbelief at the unexpected attention before seemingly glancing towards Alex for help— _Dude, don't laugh! Tell them there's nothing to see here!_

But then her hiding tactics would prove useless as Chloe walks towards the side of the stage by the end of the song, heading down a couple of stairs in Beca's direction. And maybe Beca already resigns herself to the fact that there's just no escape, not when she is in love with Chloe Beale. So when Chloe almost reaches her, she stops hiding and opens her arms instead to welcome Chloe in her arms.

"You made it!" Chloe says in relief, wondering what Beca had bribed Luke with in order to cut her shift short.

"Of course I did. My favourite singer is performing tonight," Beca replies and Chloe bites back tears. She'd been so busy for the past six months with the release and promotion of her new album, preparations for her concert, add in the press schedules for her upcoming movie set to be released next month that Chloe had admittedly been guilty for spending less to no time with Beca.

They _haven't_ even gone to Norway.

Yet, in spite of all that, her devoted girlfriend would find a million and one ways to make sure that their growing relationship would form to be as tight as ever. Never has Chloe seen such effort made especially for her that it makes her heart swell at just the thought of it.

"See, it's like the northern lights. We don't have to sit for hours in a cramped up plane and entertain the possibility of dying from a crash!" Beca said one time, a couple of months ago, as she flicks the switch to open a set of red, violet and green lights slowly blinking in Chloe's dance studio after rehearsals, along with a nice comfortable mat and warm cups of hot chocolate.

With the way her schedule was piling up, Chloe had feared that Beca would end up leaving her. Can anyone really blame her? All of her relationships somehow ended because of her career being the major reason. Which is why, Chloe can't help but be scared that she might lose Beca the same way.

So, last month, the busiest month she had, after almost a week of not being able to see the brunette she had been longing for, Chloe steps out of her car without a care in the world, climbing up the familiar steps before finally reaching Beca's apartment door. Unlocking it with the key Beca had given her, she steps in. The room is dark but she knows the place so well, she maneuvers around with ease towards Beca's room. When she opens the door, the sight of Beca sleeping on the bed makes Chloe tear up. Even though they constantly messaged and called each other, nothing can still compare to being physically present to hold the one you love in your arms.

"Fuck!" Beca had almost screamed out in fright as she woke up, body jerking in full defensive mode when Chloe sits at the end of the bed.

"I'm sorry, Becs. I didn't mean to wake you up," she apologizes before sniffing and that's when Beca turns on her bedside lamp.

"Chlo," Beca breathes out a huge sigh of relief as she clutches her chest. "I almost thought the ghost from the fifth floor decided to hang out in my room," Beca says, her voice sounding husky while her eyes struggle to open which was normal given that it's past midnight.

"I thought you didn't believe in ghosts," Chloe says softly.

"I was about to, ten seconds ago," Beca answers back wittily before finally noticing the state Chloe was in.

"Are you crying? Wait, why are you crying?" Beca worriedly asks, now more awake than ever as she cups Chloe's damp cheeks, wiping the tears with her thumb. "What happened? Who did this?" she demands and Chloe just shakes her head, choking back a sob before wiping a tear with the back of her hand.

"No, nobody did anything to me," she assures Beca who doesn't seem to buy it. "I just…" she trails off and Beca's frown deepens.

"What? You can tell me anything," Beca says in a gentler tone.

"I just feel like the worst girlfriend," she finally admits. "It's almost been a month since we got together and we've only seen each other like five… and a half times because of all my schedules and when we do meet it's like so rushed, and you've been so understanding and sweet, and always running to where I'm at," she cries out, her voice breaking and that's when Beca pulls her close, wrapping Chloe in her arms.

"So, you came here at past two in the morning to give me the shock of a lifetime? Did you drive here all by yourself?" Beca asks, shock evident in her tone and Chloe nods, in between sobs, tightly clinging to Beca.

"I just had to see you," she sniffs again. "And you're probably getting tired of all of it, the stupid lies the media keeps throwing, my crazy schedules, I've missed out on Jesse's birthday party and the celebration of your promotion, and now I'm even bothering your sleeping time! I really am the worst girlfriend and I'm so scared that you'll change your mind about me—"

"Chloe, stop. No, that's never going to happen," Beca cuts her off, hushing her protests down. "I'm tired but not that kind of tired. You know I have the worst genes when it comes to anything physical, maybe except when it comes to _sexy time_ or as Stacie calls it, _the bang bang_ ," Beca jokes lightly and that somehow eases the heaviness in Chloe's chest a bit.

"And you're not the worst girlfriend. Why would I even think that? I strongly disagree and nothing will make me think otherwise. Nothing, so, shut up and come in here," Beca says in all certainty before gently dragging Chloe with her to bed.

"You must be physically drained, like me, and also that crazy diet they're making you do. You need food, like real non-leafy food. Just don't tell Alex or that scary-looking gym instructor of yours, okay? But for now, let's go to sleep," Beca yawns and Chloe continues to cling to her underneath the covers, finding warmth and comfort in Beca's arms, wrapped tightly around her.

"I really missed you," she tiredly mumbles, feeling like another fresh batch of tears starts to break out as Beca repeatedly kisses her cheek and the top of her head.

"I missed you too," Beca answers back. "Don't ever think that way again, okay? And don't come here on your own. It's dangerous with the stalkers and crazies out in the middle of the night. Call me. I'll come, crawl, swing to you, wherever or whenever,"

"I'm sorry," she repeats and Beca silences her with a kiss.

She had the best sleep that night in months and the best breakfast—lots and lots of egg and bacon in her grilled cheese sandwich courtesy of Beca and Stacie. They basically piled lots of it on her sandwich because, _"No one's watching, Chlo," "Yeah, and here, have some more bacon! Becs Becs here needs to stop consuming too much of it or she going to choke to death," "Hey! How come I only have egg and cheese in my sandwich, Conrad?" "Because you're bleeding bacon already, Mitchell! I gave it to Chlo Chlo!"_ And even though Chloe got a little under fire when she came late to her appointments that day, she felt much better than before.

Beca always says that she's lucky to have Chloe but Chloe believes otherwise. Chloe is extremely lucky to have Beca.

"I brought pizza so hurry up and finish your concert, which is happening at this second, Chloe," Beca reminds her. And that's when Chloe breaks away from the hug to run back on stage, but not before planting a quick kiss on Beca's lips.

"Go, sing, perform, be the awesome kitten that you are!" Beca calls out with a grin as they part.

Basically, the night was memorable and the concert was a success. And Chloe got to eat pizza at the rooftop of Beca and Stacie's apartment building. If she'd open her phone, she'd probably get a dozen of notifications about her very unconventional exit from the concert venue on the back of Beca's motorbike—courtesy of Luke, of course—which was extremely cool and liberating.

"This is so good," Chloe half moans as she chews on her food, eyes closed as she savours the moment. Currently they sat on a sofa, which Beca had borrowed and struggled to bring up the rooftop earlier—most probably with Jesse and Benji as they were the easiest to threaten and push around.

"I don't even know how you go on for a month without pizza," Beca mutters in disbelief as she opens a cold beer to hand over to Chloe.

"Had to and I love the flowers, by the way," she brings up, eyeing the lovely bouquet sitting next to her.

"Yeah about that, the flower shop lady kept asking if I was giving it to you and when I did finally said yes, went on to do Vogue's 73 questions with Beca Mitchell. Also, she wanted me to tell you that she put on a _few_ extra touches for you," Beca sighs at the memory which earns a giggle from Chloe. Those few extra touches weren't really as few as Beca had described the huge bouquet.

"You know I don't really care about what flowers you bring as long as you make it to the concert. It really means a lot to me to have you there. It's the first concert I'm doing after the whole accident thing," Chloe sincerely says as she looks at Beca, memorizing every detail of her face like she always does when they get precious time alone like this.

"Well, I won't be late for the second night, that's for sure. It's my off day at the bar," Beca assures her softly as they lean closer to each other, the distance lessening with every second. What starts as a lingering kiss deepens and Chloe finds herself straddling Beca, arms around Beca's neck while the brunette grips her waist tighter.

Maybe not seeing each other as often as other couples do has its advantages. One of which is, they constantly miss each other, the longing growing bigger and bigger each day that when they do meet, every second becomes priceless and special. Two, Beca admits she loves a very deprived Chloe because it evolves to a needy, touchy, sexy Chloe and nothing can stop that, not even the apocalypse.

Except perhaps a loud noisy group of misfits barging through the rooftop door to steal pizza and unintentionally destroy Beca and Chloe's intimate moment.

"I hate all of you," Beca mutters as she glares at each one of them while they all start a small after concert party with a foldable long table, balloons, lots of take-out, alcohol, music and some party poppers.

Chloe looks at her apologetically but the mischievous smile she throws her way promises more of _that_ later.

"Come over here grumpy, you can get to the down and dirty later," Stacie teases, hooking her arm around Beca's neck and dragging her over to the table next to Chloe who is receiving a hug from Aubrey.

"Alright, bitches!" Fat Amy yells out over the noisy bunch as they all place their attention towards her. "In commemoration of the success of our favourite ginger's epic concert," she motions grandly over to a happy Chloe.

"We are going to get wasted as fuck!" Fat Amy screams.

"Oh no, not this again," Chloe hears Beca groan while the rest yell and howl. Aubrey's confused, _'We're going to what?'_ doesn't pass her either as she pats her best friend in the back sympathetically. Aubrey clearly doesn't know what's coming.

"And I'm confiscating all your phones! In case you disgusting animals get so wasted enough to post photos or videos on Instagram and Snapchat," Beca reminds them, her concern over both Chloe and Aubrey being first on her priorities. If you are dating a celebrity one has to remember that social media and embarrassing photos don't mix well. It was very fortunate that Beca had been able to swat the phone out of a drunk Jesse's hand during the last party, saving that video of her and Chloe dancing in a way that would probably send the entertainment world in a frenzy with all the heat in it.

"No worries, Becaw. We got polaroids!" Jesse quips and Benji takes out a black Polaroid camera which Flo was so quick to snatch and play around with. In minutes, like the crazy bunch they all are, it doesn't take long until another set of hilarious drunk moments are made and everyone goes to bed—or wherever they crash in—satisfied.

Especially Beca and Chloe.

* * *

Thankful.

There is a lot that Beca has to be thankful for. Of course, what she is most thankful for is the woman who has captured her heart. But she also has to take in to consideration the other things outside the realm of feelings and emotional connections like getting promoted to one of KSCK 91.5's main radio DJs. She especially takes over the afternoon timeslot and has been known for keeping track of indie artists that deserve recognition.

At first it was all smooth and ratings are steady as she hides under the nickname, DJ Becks. She was actually against the use of this certain nickname Chloe has fondly called her as she feels that it was too personal but with her girlfriend voicing out how she'd actually want to hear the nickname on radio, Beca eventually figures that she can work with it—a willing slave for Chloe remember?

But then it only took a week before people found out about this fresh and mysterious DJ Becks who sometimes even plays her own laid back mixes on the radio. Beca did expect this to happen but not this soon. She thought she could give it a couple of months but then being tied to the name Chloe Beale has clearly speed up the process.

Soon enough, ratings had picked up and doubled, gaining even more listeners than any radio timeslot with requests of new mixes overflowing. Beca would certainly not have managed it all if it weren't for her highly creative and also newly promoted radio director, Stacie Conrad. It was also her best friend who had pushed her to release one of her mixes for the first time. They hadn't expected much, only wanting to check something off their bucket list, which is hearing something Beca created through the air waves. The mix was played and soon a ton of inquiries about the track had them looking at each other in disbelief. And that's basically how it started.

As much as possible, ever since the news broke, Beca has completely avoided talking about Chloe on air even though there was the constant mention of her girlfriend's name from most of the listeners. Stacie, who knows exactly how Beca feels, has had to filter every message sent for Beca with only the most relevant content. But that doesn't mean that Beca avoided playing Chloe's music on air. Despite being an indie focused program, whenever Beca adds her own flavour in the playlist, a majority of her mixes had Chloe's songs in it.

Maybe she also blames it on missing her beloved redhead a lot. And this is the part where Beca finds being in a relationship with a celebrity convenient as she gets to hear Chloe's voice everywhere. Although, none of that tops hearing it face to face.

Anyways, three months in the job and Beca is adjusting perfectly well.

"Okay, we got a caller on the line," Beca says as soon as she gives credits to the last song and its artist. One thing the listeners love about the program was the new segment that gets you to dedicate a message to their special person—also Stacie's idea—and Beca would quickly pair it with a relatable song or mix afterwards. Having intensive music knowledge, it was easy as eating chips. What wasn't, was reading aliases or nicknames from callers who want to be discreet about their love confessions or personal dedications.

"It's from… MySexyKitten," Beca looks at the screen in disbelief and clears her throat in order to continue.

"Hello, DJ Becks over here," Beca opens smoothly to the caller before taking a quick sip of her coffee.

"Hi, DJ Becks," the female voice has Beca pause for a moment as she slowly lowers her cup but at the same time she wasn't so sure since radio phone calls can sound deceiving sometimes so she continues professionally.

"Uhm thanks for waiting! Who do you want to dedicate your message to?" she asks, lightly tapping her finger on the table.

"To my girlfriend," she answer and Beca nods. "She works as a radio DJ. She has like the best mixes ever and she acts all uncaring on the outside but is totes a softie deep down,"

This time Beca is a hundred percent sure who this is and that has her whipping her head towards Stacie who only shrugs innocently behind the glass of the DJ's booth. That knowing smirk however, breaks her innocent façade. On the other hand, Beca has to bite her thumb as she listens in an attempt to stop her smile from widening, trying to contain her excited emotions from exploding in public.

She breathes deeply before speaking again, "You seem to have a very interesting girlfriend,"

"Oh yeah, she is just awes. I love her a lot," at this point, Beca could tell that the caller was smiling when she said this.

"And I'm pretty damn sure she loves you as much, maybe even more," Beca says in a softer tone before quickly following it with, "Okay, MySexyKitten, you can go ahead and send your wonderful girlfriend a message,"

"Hey babe," she begins and Beca knows she's just about to blush and squirm in her seat at the next words. Redheads and their sweet words are really her weakness. "I miss you. Well, I miss every second that we are not together. You make my world perfect and I'm looking forward to going on a million more adventures with you. I also can't wait to see you later! Maybe we can grab something delicious after work? Call me when you're done. Love you!" soft laughter fills Beca's ears and it always sounds like heaven to her.

It takes about a couple of seconds before Beca could speak but she does it smoothly, or at least tries to, "I bet she can't wait to see you later too. I'm also pretty sure that she'll _call you_ after this and…" Beca trails off, playing with her pen in her fingers, a small smile breaking in her lips. "I'm guessing it's a burgers and fries kind of night?" Beca suggests as she bites her lip while waiting for the reply.

"Definitely," comes the awaited response.

"Okay,"

"Okay,"

"Bye," Beca says, pausing for a second before bursting out in laughter which is infectious enough to have the person in the other line do the same. She quickly covers her mouth with a hand to stop the incoming embarrassing giggles.

Clearing her throat as she straightens up and fanning herself with both hands, Beca quickly composes herself immediately.

"Alright, thank you again for calling, MySexyKitten. This next song is for you and your girlfriend," she announces as she presses a few button to play one of her popular remixes.

"This is the unofficial remix of Together Forever by Chloe Beale,"

Beca goes off-air, taking off her earphones and turning to see a laughing Stacie, triumphantly pumping her fist in the air. The ratings must have spiked up dramatically by how the comments were bursting on their live feed. She displays an unamused look her best friend's way, shaking her head before reaching for her bag. She fishes for her phone before dialling her girlfriend's number. It only takes two rings when the line finally connects.

"So, which burger joint do you want to eat at?" Chloe greets her excitedly.

"Don't worry about it, I know just the place," she assures her, a destination already in mind. "Where are you now? Are you on your way here?" Beca asks, checking the time. She only has about thirty minutes before she could wrap up the program to make way for the next DJ.

"I'm on the…," she prolongs the word as if trying to decipher what street she was at. "Twelfth floor," she finally answers and Beca looks up.

"Of this building?" she clarifies just as she sees Stacie's face light up in recognition and in a minute, sees Chloe and Alex step in the room outside the DJ's booth. As always, even when her face is hidden under a cap, Chloe's presence makes the whole place light up like the morning sun and that dazzling smile she throws Beca's way erases all of her exhaustion instantly.

Beca thinks that this is her life now. It's always sunshine and smiles in her world and Chloe Beale is the reason why it is so. Honestly, she's loving every moment of it.

"Ready to go?" Chloe asks after Beca plants a soft kiss on her lips. She's just stepped out the booth, her focus instantly zooming in her favourite redhead.

"Yeah," she replies before glancing at Stacie. "Hey, we're eating out, wanna' come?" she asks.

"We're on the hunt for burgers and fries, if you haven't heard," Chloe adds with a smirk, fingers playing at one of the buttons of Beca's jacket.

"Everyone heard your shameless PDA and nope, can't go. Aubrey and I are going cake tasting today," Stacie explains before glancing on her wrist watch. "I'll be meeting her at the hotel in an hour," she informs.

"Ooh! Cake! Yum!" Chloe exclaims before looking back at Beca.

"We can _eat cake_ for dessert later, babe, if you like," Beca says, an eyebrow arching up at the double meaning in the suggestion while Chloe's cheeks starts to show a light tint of pink as she bites her lip.

"We're still here! Get out of the building you disgusting little birds!" Stacie protests, throwing a crumpled ball of paper at them playfully before muttering about missing her own girl.

"See what I have to deal with every time?" Alex complains as Stacie shakes her head.

"Ice water, that's the solution. Lots of ice water," Stacie mumbles.

"Fine! We're leaving! We're leaving! Bye, bitch," Beca sarcastically says, pulling Chloe along with her by the hand.

"See you on the weekend, Stace!" Chloe says. She had promised to be helping with the wedding preparations because during her absence Beca was left as sole maid of honour. And Beca as maid of honour, in Aubrey's words, drives her mad.

" _I lost the ring, Aubrey,"_

" _You better be joking, Mitchell or I swear, you'll never see the sun tomorrow!"_

" _It accidentally fell in the toilet when I was pooping, don't worry I'll get—Ow! It's in my locker! I was joking, you psychopath!"_

Thankfully, Chloe's schedule is finally clearing up after the success of her movie premiere, Beca of course being her date on said event— _"Chlo, I think something's wrong with my eyes. I still see white spots after all the camera flashing. Is this normal?"—_ , and now she can finally focus on her best friend's upcoming wedding.

There was a small crowd gathering outside the room and Chloe kindly smiles at the people greeting her while Beca leads her in the elevator with Alex. When they get down, it seems the news of her visit has travelled all throughout the building. She squeezes Beca's hand and Beca squeezes back to assure her that she was fine. They make it out amidst more rounds of cameras and curious onlookers. This time Beca wears a cap as well, pairing it with dark sunglasses. When Alex finishes leaving them a couple of reminders, mostly about Chloe's scheduled morning photo shoot tomorrow, they finally bid him goodbye and enter Beca's car with a sigh of relief.

"Where are we going?" Chloe asks when Beca starts the car.

Seemingly deep in thought for a while, Beca then turns her head towards her before answering, "Far away from here," and with that Chloe's lips slowly curve into a knowing smile.

* * *

Music.

Music is Chloe's passion. Always has and always will be. She breathes it like air and even bleeds it. And just when she thought she couldn't love it even more, she looks at Beca next to her, guitar in her hands as she starts to sing the first verse of their favourite Donna Lewis song at the start of Stacie and Aubrey's wedding reception. The happy newlyweds have just arrived as they smile at family and friends. Jesse who is on drums starts the familiar beat while Benji provides accompaniment with the bass guitar.

Both Stacie and Aubrey motion at them appreciatively before dancing sweetly on the dance floor. Chloe then sings the second verse of the song, her fingers on the electric piano as she looks proudly at the happy couple. Her eyes then lower before connecting with stormy blues as they sing the chorus.

Weddings had always made Chloe sentimental. They bring this magical feeling that makes her feel like someone is pulling on her heartstrings. Besides, it's such a beautiful sight to witness wonderful moments like this. They do end the song perfectly and hug the newlyweds.

When Beca gave out that epic toast, starting with, _'Stacie, Aubrey, you sweet, beautiful mother fuckers'_ Aubrey had hung her head in defeat. Although, you still have to give it to the generally sarcastic brunette when she started getting serious afterwards, bringing Stacie and everyone to tears. Stacie is family to Beca and that tight bond they share runs deep. It was just heart-warming to see the brunette blinking back tears from escaping the corner of her eyes as she expresses her happiness that Stacie has finally found someone who treasures her as she deserves to be treasured and how lucky Aubrey is to have found Stacie. Of course it wouldn't be Beca if it doesn't end with, _'Okay, I'm cutting this short because I'm hungry and these fucking heels are killing me,'_ before walking over to embrace both Aubrey and Stacie tightly.

Chloe is then given the microphone next. She keeps it light but meaningful despite having to pause at one point to swallow the impending sob. Unlike, Beca she finds quelling down emotions hard so she wipes a tear when she looks at and equally teary-eyed Aubrey, remembering the moments when they talked about the future years ago. She then wishes them both a life of never ending love and happiness before sharing a toast with Beca for the couple.

She and Beca sing a couple more songs as the party starts to heat up. Sharing the stage with Beca only heightens her desire to convince her girlfriend to feature in her next track. The brunette has already produced some of the songs in her album so maybe it won't be long until Beca gives in, hopefully.

Chloe had always said that when she loves someone she doesn't really care whether that someone is in the same field as she is but now she has to admit, it's more special to be sharing that same passion she has with someone she loves.

That someone is Beca.

As the night starts to fall, she finds herself swaying in Beca's arms, having a really fun time. They've finally moved to the dance floor after a couple of drinks and the music has now fallen down into something less jumpy but still good enough to dip and lightly bounce to. This leaves Chloe tiredly resting her head on Beca's shoulder as they continue to move gently to the beat.

Out of the corner of her eye, she then spots Stacie standing up to hug Lilly tightly before whispering something. The usually quiet Asian whispers back and whatever she said makes Stacie smile brightly. Lilly then suddenly looks her way and unlike the first time they met, Chloe is surprised to receive a smile instead.

"Becs," she starts, catching Beca's attention. "Stacie and Lilly seem really close," she speaks out her observation.

"Oh those two," Beca begins, her head turning at the same direction Chloe is looking at. "Very close,"

Her answer surprises Chloe even more as she looks back at Beca, egging her to explain further.

"They met when we moved to LA and they instantly clicked in some spiritual level that even I can't explain. It's hard joining a conversation with those two so I get pathetically thrown aside when they're together. If Lilly didn't hate big crowds and said less of the weird stuff she _loves_ to talk about, she might be making the toast with you instead of me,"

"Really?" Chloe asks in disbelief as Beca nods.

"Really,"

"I guess that's why she kept looking at me weirdly when Stacie and I did the swap thing," she muses. "It's like she knew and it was like I did something wrong that makes her want to kill me in my sleep," Chloe says in a low tone as she shivers at the memory.

"She looks at everyone that way, Chlo," Beca points out.

"No, I swear, she was staring at me in more than her usual weird, crazy vibe," Chloe insists as Beca chuckles.

"She knows Stacie as much as I do, basically clinging to her all the time, and that's probably why. Besides, you were one totally overly-caffeinated, hugging-addicted, smiley Stacie, thus the murderous intent," Beca teases which earns her a slap on the arm.

They fall into silence after a couple of laughs and is only broken when Beca presses her closer against her.

"Let's get out of here," Beca whispers in her ear which makes Chloe look into her eyes, trying to verify the seriousness of the words. Those dark blues bear no hint of sarcasm or jokes and before she knows it, Chloe is already being dragged by the hand out of the hall.

"Aubrey and Stacie would be looking for us though," she reminds Beca who doesn't seem to care about that fact and continues to walk with purpose down the steps.

"You'll see them in a few days," Beca mumbles and Chloe doesn't even doubt it.

"Is this another let's run far away from here thing again?" Chloe asks excitedly as they near the car. However, her smile falters when she enters the black sedan to see travel bags sitting at the back seat, two of which belongs to her. Now genuinely lost more than ever, she stares at Beca who takes place behind the wheel.

When Beca does look back at her, her words only confuse Chloe even more, "We're running away for real,"

"But—"

"Do you trust me?" Beca cuts her off and the question ultimately silences her. A realization settling inside her.

Leaning forward and reaching out, she pulls Beca towards her and kisses her deeply. Beca cradles her face with both her hands and kisses her back with much intensity before they break apart, foreheads leaning against each other. At that moment Chloe knew for certain that it doesn't matter if they run to the ends of the earth as long as they are together. Maybe she was a fool, maybe they both are but she doesn't care. Beca is her soulmate. She already knew Beca was going to be someone special in her life the moment they first saw each other. It was even crazy to think that they almost wouldn't have crossed paths again if not for that one strange phenomenon. Maybe it's fate, doing the impossible by creating a glitch in the universe. Who knows? What she does know though is, this is it for her.

Beca is her forever.

"Always," she breathes out in reply as they both smile.

She doesn't ask anything else when Beca drives away from the wedding hall, or when they hit the highway, or even when they stop by the airport. She doesn't question the hows or the whys as she takes Beca's hand, intertwined fingers fitting perfectly when they enter with their bags in tow.

"Destination?"

The question has them both looking at each other for a while before finally facing the lady behind the counter with knowing smiles as they answer at the same time.

"Norway,"

* * *

 **Epilogue**

* * *

 **Nine months ago**

"Are you sure this is the place?" Stacie asks as she looks at a nodding Lilly before warily eyeing the run-down commercial building. The blue paint is already peeling off, showing the gray undercoat and some windows look like they'd fall off any moment now.

Nevertheless, Stacie takes a step towards the entrance before pushing the creaking door. After waving some dust off their faces and adjusting to the dimness of the room, Stacie looks around to find the place empty. It was early in the afternoon with the sun so high up the sky but the place could still pass off as a haunted house. There was an old reception located right next to the stairs but no one was manning it. She would have turned around if it weren't for the cup of coffee sitting on the reception desk. There was smoke coming out of the cup which meant somebody was indeed here not too long ago. Deciding to walk around in hopes of finding the person in-charge, no sooner had she turned in a corner towards a room when Stacie jumps back in surprise, curses flying out of her mouth while Lilly remains rooted and frozen on her spot, eyes widening by the second. Stacie had just unexpectedly came face to face with a middle-aged man who was border lining creepy with his wide smile.

"Hi! Welcome," he greets as if nothing had happened while Stacie continues to clutch her chest with a hand, eyeing him in disbelief and anger.

"I'm John, John Smith. Are you pretty ladies here for an appointment or just a simple inquiry?" he asks, before showing that creepy smile again that reminds Stacie of a clown. Even his white frilly shirt makes him look odd.

"Yeah, uhm," Stacie glances at Lilly for a moment before looking back at John and slowly answering. "We're here for an appointment,"

"Ah, of course, please head up to the red door upstairs," he motions towards the old looking wooden staircase which Stacie is sure to be creaking once she steps on it. "Madame Gail is ready to see you," he waves grandly and Stacie just decides to well, _fuck it and just go._

They head up to the second floor which is almost the same as the first one with the exception of the small window where the sunshine spills in to brighten at least a portion of the place. There are three doors actually, one in blue, one in black and one in red. Cautiously, they step towards the red door, looking around because they can't afford another heart attack, at least for Stacie.

This time it's Lilly who opens the door and Stacie has to adjust her eyes yet again to the vibrant colour of red inside the huge room. In contrast to the old worn-down vibe of the building, this room looked so clean, well-lit and modern. Plush maroon seats around a white round table were placed at the center of the room. Above, an expensive looking silver chandelier hanging directly on top the table. It was also noticeable that the place looked like some avant-garde hotel room. There was a queen sized bed at the very end, a sofa, a flat screen TV and a vintage record player. Up in the walls hung different photos of what looks like different groups singing and playing instruments. Overall, it was a really nice place.

A noise breaks their curious gazes as they see a woman exit a room, most probably the bathroom. She looked like she'd be in her late thirties with blonde wavy hair. She wore a red long, satin night dress while lots of beaded necklaces, bracelets and huge rings adorned her neck, wrists and fingers.

"Good afternoon. Please, sit," she offers, motioning to the red plush seats around the table. They do as told while the woman sits across them, a box in her hands as she places it down the table.

"Tea?" she offers again and they both shake their head no.

"So," she begins as she pours herself a cup of tea. "You have questions," she says before Stacie could even speak.

"Well, that's what we're here for," she answers.

"Questions that have to do with matters of the heart," the lady speaks again and this makes her exchange looks with Lilly before cautiously glancing back at the woman.

"I… Yes," she says slowly, about to explain further when she is cut off again.

"For you and for someone who is… very close to you. A sibling but not by blood, an unbreakable bond. One that shall last a lifetime,"

By now, Stacie swears that the she is having goose bumps and chills. She's never been a stranger to gypsies and fortune-tellers but this particular one is definitely something else. The whole place is just giving off a strange unpredictable vibe. Besides, this was just something they did for fun when they saw that mysterious flyer which flew on to their table by accident. So, she didn't really expect much. That is until this very second.

"Yes," she answers again and this time she watches as the lady opens the small box in front of her to take out a deck of red cards with intricate colourful drawings on one side. She carefully lays 5 of them in front of her before looking back at her in a way that has her feel intimidated. Now, that doesn't happen often.

The woman hums before speaking. "Interesting. Very interesting,"

"That's one way to describe me," she comments, unable to help herself from trying to challenge the woman.

"Five years. You'll meet your soulmate in five years even though you've known this person for a while now,"

Now this is where it's confusing for her, "I don't understand. I haven't met my soulmate… but I already _know_ this person?" she tries to clarify, brows furrowing.

"You know who this person is, you've probably come across your soulmate's name and face more than a hundred times," she explains simply which only deepens Stacie's frown.

"So basically, you're saying that my soulmate is someone who could be… famous? Like a politician or a celebrity?" she asks again.

"Smart girl, I don't know which it is but it seems to be the case. I only read what the cards want to tell me," she answers and Stacie exhales out loud, head deep in thought. This is definitely a first. It's all so specific unlike the vague answers she gets from the others.

"Male or female?" she just had to make sure and the woman makes another hum before lightly tilting her head to the side as she lays out another card.

Her answer however, makes Stacie's heart drop. "It doesn't matter. You'll meet your soulmate once in passing and never again. You won't be together, not in this lifetime," she says sadly before looking at her apologetically.

"What?!" she quickly reacts and Lilly places a hand over her shoulder to stop her from jumping up to grab the woman by the throat and shake the answers out of her. "B-But you said I'd be meeting my soulmate in five years! If this is my soulmate then we should _be_ together," she pushes on and another card is laid out, this one however seems dark and is placed at the opposite side from the first set of cards.

The woman sighs heavily and that doesn't sound good to Stacie's ears.

"The person very close to you, the one you think of as a sibling, this person is the cause,"

"Beca?" she says in disbelief. "Why would Beca be the cause? That's impossible," she quickly argues, shaking her head.

"Because this Beca, her soulmate is connected to your own soulmate. And like you, sadly, Beca won't be end up with hers either, creating a chain effect since you and Beca have interconnected lines, the bond you have is really interwoven tightly," she states heavily. "I'm so sorry,"

"Is this the part where you make me choose between family and love?" Stacie says, rather sarcastically. "Because that's already been decided, family is family. And this is bullshit," she says in a hard tone before standing up to leave, an angry Lilly on her heels.

It was clearly a mistake coming here. Never had she ever had a prediction this gloomy before. She isn't wasting her money to be depressed.

"You're not doomed in this lifetime despite not being with your soulmate. It happens most of the time actually," the woman suddenly says before Stacie could even take a step further. She stops and the woman continues.

"You're lucky actually, very lucky. Your stars are bright and they will continue to shine for the years to come. You'll eventually find a wonderful companion whom you'd start a family with, have lovely children with and grow old together with. Truly, a peaceful and accomplished life you're going to have. It's just that…" she pauses and Stacie slowly turns around to face her.

"There will be times when you'll feel that something's missing in your life, just a few couple of times but it won't linger long and it won't affect your married life. It's a little side effect from not being able to be with your soulmate," she says. There are added cards on the table by now yet Stacie's eyes fall to the one single black card at the other side.

"And Beca?" she asks softly, concern etching in her features.

"Beca," the woman repeats carefully before taking another card from the deck and placing it next to the first one. It's another dark coloured card and something inside Stacie sinks at the bad feeling she is having.

"She is… going to live a miserable and lonely life. Although she has you, the only positive factor in her life, and will gain success, career wise, she will be miserable. Sadly, she will only be able to be with her soulmate after possibly a few more lifetimes," she says with a bit of difficulty.

"Does she even get to meet her soulmate in this lifetime?" she asks, taking a few steps back to the table before sitting down wearily.

Another card is laid and this time it's covered in gold.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, it seems they already have met,"

"When?" she asks eagerly, wracking her memory of faces she and Beca had met through the years.

"Years ago, one or maybe two… Yes! Two years ago. It's… somewhere loud and the aura she possesses that time is dark but then she finds comfort in warm arms, her soulmate's. There's an occasion, a special one but your friend doesn't consider it so because of… family matters, a troubled past that made this special day a lot wor—,"

"Her birthday!" Stacie blurts out while Lilly's mouth hangs open, probably letting out a silent gasp.

"We were working two years ago as interns in this music festival. It was her birthday that time!" Stacie adds, looking at Lilly who nods. "But the thing is, I don't remember seeing Beca hug anyone. I mean, that's just impossible. Well, there's like a thousand people there that time but I'm certain. Beca hates hugs, her spikes stick out when someone even tries to hug her," Stacie points out as she rolls her eyes at the thought.

"The cards say otherwise, they had indeed made a connection but unfortunately," she drags before taking out another card. "Your friend made a grave mistake of walking away that night,"

"You mean, she wouldn't have had to suffer for a couple of lifetimes if she hadn't been so stupid by running away from her soulmate?!" Stacie almost yells out when the woman eventually nods.

"Remind me to hang her upside down later," she grumbles towards Lilly who smiles like creepy John Smith earlier.

"How about her soulmate?" Stacie suddenly asks out of curiosity and the woman takes another card, placing it above the group of cards she read about Beca.

The heavy sigh already tells Stacie it's not going to be good either. "Same, this one's going to have a discontented and lonely life as well. This person is going to achieve an unimaginable amount of success, her stars will shine in that area extremely bright until she stops and decides to enjoy the remaining years of her life quietly, but all that will never fill the huge hole left in this person's heart. She seeks out for your friend, but sadly fails to find her,"

Turning back to the woman, a thought enters her mind. "So both of them are going to suffer? Are they never going to meet again? Was that really it?" Stacie asks, almost pleadingly at the woman who takes out another card.

"Pocket," was all she says and Stacie stares dumbly.

"Pocket? Like jeans pocket?"

"No. Hoodie," she says, pointing over at the left zipped up pocket of Stacie's dark brown hoodie. When she unzips it to dig in the contents, she takes out two tickets to the club she instructed Beca to go to tonight, Club Bellissimo. It was an early birthday present since she unexpectedly got them from the bartender of said club, the one she was flirting with last week.

"They're going to meet each other again tonight at this club?" Stacie assumes in an excited tone before handing it towards the woman's open palm.

However, once the paper touches the woman's fingertips a gasp escapes her lips while her hand shakes. She closes her eyes for a few seconds before inhaling and opening them once more, this time looking much calmer than before.

"It's her," she says as she pushes it back to Stacie.

"Her! A girl? Who?" Stacie asks as she and Lilly look down closely at the ticket on the table filled with names of the main acts. "DJ Vanessa?" she reads out loud.

"No, the other one,"

"Nicki Minaj?" she asks skeptically, eyes wide in apparent shock.

The woman sighs in exasperation before standing up to point at the correct name making both her and Lilly let out a prolonged silent 'Oh' which later turned into an 'Oh!' of sudden realization and shock.

"So that's why!" Stacie lets out, slamming her palm on the table. "She was at the festival two years ago! Beca likes her, surprisingly. Like, she used to think her songs were too mushy but turns out that she has her recent album and music videos," she recalls before cocking her head to the side.

"I _accidentally_ found that secret folder on her laptop," she mumbles towards Lilly.

At this point, if people knew Stacie, they'd know that giving up isn't something she recognizes. By knowing the identity of Beca's soulmate wouldn't that make it easier for her to do something about the impending life of misery her best friend was about to sink in?

"I can bring them together," she looks up confidently after a minute of silence. "If they just spend more time—"

"It's not going to work," the woman says just as confidently as her. And before Stacie could counter, she points at Beca's cards. "Your friend keeps resisting the pull,"

"Damn it, Beca! That stubborn dwarf," Stacie groans helplessly, shoulders slumping while Lilly comfortingly pats her back and hisses like a cat towards Beca's cards.

"But there has to be a way!" Stacie cries out, already contemplating on getting on her knees to beg. "There's always a way," she softly says, more to herself than towards the woman.

"There is," the woman breathes out with her eyes closed, as if it was something she wouldn't want to share. But Stacie was willing to do anything so she perks up immediately, desperate for a solution.

The woman then starts arranging the cards, putting them all back in the deck and carefully storing them into the box from where she took it from. Once she closes the wooden box, she finally looks back at Stacie with a grave expression.

"It's something that would create an imbalance in the universe, like a spark that could challenge fate, change destinies. This is beyond the cards now. It is, however, illegal and dangerous. One must take great caution as nobody plays with fate and comes out of it unscathed," she warns gravely.

Her words were cold and chills Stacie's bones like never before. Even the air in the room somehow gotten even cooler like the approaching winter winds.

Is it even worth it?

"What do I have to do? How much does it cost?" Stacie asks, her face void of any emotion. At the corner of her eye, Lilly looks at her in alarm.

"Just one simple thing, just one. However, it'll cost you a lot,"

"How much money are we talking about exactly?" Stacie inquires, already calculating the cost and stretching her working hours. Maybe even getting another job.

"No, this isn't about money. This will cost you more than that… This will cost you your soul, Stacie Conrad,"

As soon as the words leave her lips, Lilly is up on her feet in a second, trying to drag Stacie out of the room and shaking her head furiously in refusal to the idea. But Stacie fights the force and looks at Lilly with eyes that seem to have already made a decision. She silently looks at her friend apologetically before slowly walking back to the table.

"I can't let Beca suffer. She's my sister. She's family. And even I can't live a life feeling incomplete, no matter how peaceful or great it would be. That's just not me. That's not what my parents wanted for me," she says before looking at the woman determinedly.

"What do I have to do?"

"Head out and enter the black door," she answers simply before she swallows hard.

Stacie never regrets.

She believes that everything happens for a reason and even mistakes are only life's way of making her a better person. She also lives by the belief that decisions are supposed to be always done with a hundred percent certainty and that a person should stand by it.

So, she, with Lilly behind her, stands at Club Bellissimo's back door amongst the small chattering crowd surrounding her. Surprisingly, she is calm, considering that she's about to defy the heavens and cause a tear in the balance of humanity. The sun is finally starting to call it a day, the orange glow shining in one side. A beautiful sight to see before she makes the jump and seals the deal.

After this, there's just no turning back.

Life has been good despite the hiccups here and there.

It's been good, she tells herself over and over again.

Delighted screams and squeals break her reverie as a fancy white van comes to a stop near them. Tightening her hold on the poster and pen in her hands, she takes a step forward, fighting her way to the front.

"Chloe! Chloe Beale!" an over ecstatic fan screams next to her as the van opens to a beautiful redhead whose smile makes Stacie think would be a good addition to the family.

"Beca better thank me after this," she mutters before reaching out.

Her hand connects with a soft warm hand.

"Hi! This is for my friend who is secretly such a big fan of yours. She loves you so much it's crazy," Stacie starts, praying that _it_ happens soon before she loses physical contact with Chloe.

"Cool! What's her name?" Chloe asks sweetly as she quickly takes the pen to sign the poster with her face on it.

"Beca. Beca Mitchell. B. E. C. A," she spells after Chloe starts writing the dedication which read,

 _Thanks for being an awesome fan! Can't wait to see you! –Chloe B._

Funny how she wrote about something Stacie hopes would happen. Destiny is destiny after all and she's just about to stab the gods from behind.

Leaning forward she whispers the words she'd been told to say, "I'll open the door for your soul to let it in. Your time will be short. So, follow your heart, take what it desires, keep it and never let it go or be trapped in desolation, _la douleur exquise_. Death will be the price, good luck, Chloe,"

"Sorry, what was that?" Chloe asks in puzzlement, eyes still on the poster as she starts to write Beca's name.

Then Stacie feels it, soft light droplets falling from the bright, clear sky.

"It's happening," she murmurs in awe, holding on to Chloe's wrist tightly as they both instinctively look up.

Time felt like it slowed down for a few moments. Everyone was rushing to stay dry, hands on their heads while umbrellas are being opened.

"Also, please don't have sex with Beca using my body," she pleads softly, face scrunching in disgust at the thought and she doesn't even expect Chloe to hear it as her people start to pull the famous celebrity inside despite her protests of not being done signing yet.

Slowly, she starts losing her grip on the famous redhead's hand and finally the commotion ends with Chloe finally escorted inside the club. Everyone starts going back their own way and continuing their usual routine while Stacie remains standing, mind deep in thought.

It was only when Lilly stands next to her, holding a bright yellow umbrella above her head that she finally gets a grip on her surroundings.

"Hey," she starts, facing the sad Asian with a smile. "If I don't make it back… will you keep an eye on these two idiots for me? Especially Beca, she tends ignore her heart and picks the worst choices," she pleads softly and Lilly wraps her arms around her, body shaking as if she is crying, silently, as always.

"I'll be fine. I got a good feeling about this," she assures, patting the sobbing girl's back gently. "I regret nothing,"

Stacie's phone suddenly rings and that breaks their hug as she checks to see who it is.

Perfect timing, indeed.

"Stace, do I really have to go?" Beca's voice comes in shortly as soon as Stacie answers the call.

"I'm not taking no for an answer, Mitchell. Wear those damn clothes and meet me tonight at this address I'll be sending—No, I swear you'd love this. Stop being a grandma," she says in a demanding tone.

"Why can't we just go out tomorrow?" Beca whines.

Rolling her eyes, Stacie goes for something deep to say. "You're going. It'll mean a lot to me if you do. Tonight's a special night," she pauses for a second to breathe in deep and out.

"I promise you, this is going to be one hell of a crazy ride and you'll be in for one absolutely mind-blowing adventure," she smiles, putting an arm over Lilly's shoulder as they start walking.

"Fine, I can't wait," Beca answers in a bored, sarcastic tone, making Stacie think of the words Chloe wrote on the poster.

Her smile grows even bigger.

"Well, you won't have to wait long,"

* * *

 **A/N: This has been fun. I had lots and lots of fun making this and much more fun getting to see your comments and genuine reactions to this fanfic. This is the final chapter of LDE. I apologize if there had been any errors in spelling or grammar. My obsessive ass will probz re-check every chapter. Thank you so much for the outpouring support and love. Every comment you guys made is gold to me. Every follow and favorite has made me so happy. Without you guys this fanfic won't mean anything. Thank you for reading!**

 **And yeah that's a little plot twist at the end which I thought of from the very beginning, haha. It actually started from there.**

 **Bechloe being happy and free together in NORWAY. Finally! (Beca might have proposed there, _might._ I'm not sure.)**

 _ **xcombixgirlx**_ : **Alcohol and fanfiction is always a good combination. haha.**

 ** _joshhalber:_ I don't know either. Also, tweet away! I don't mind at all.**

 ** _OneHp:_ Here, have some more chocolate.**

 ** _RJRMovieFan_ _:_ Thanks for reading another fanfic of mine! Appreciate it so much :)**

 ** _Parziwolf:_ Get some sleep. You'll be looking like a panda if you don't. Well, on second thought, pandas aren't so bad. Actually, pandas are the best! Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed the last chapter :) **

**_Leapyearbaby29:_ I only ship Bechloe! Bechloe is life.**

 _ **To Everyone:**_ **Don't be sad or cry!** **This panda** **w** **ill be releasing another Bechloe fanfic soon! Just got to finish a couple more chapters before releasing it.**

 **Redchocopanda out!**


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